The European Commission to the rescue of Baltic countries, Finland, and Poland, grappling with an increase in irregular migrant entries from Russia and Belarus, APA reports citing EU news.
Brussels is making €170 million available to address the “serious and persistent nature” of hybrid threats from Moscow and Minsk, guilty of an “unacceptable weaponization of migration.”
In the communication adopted today (Dec. 11) by the European Commission, it is stated that “in order to ensure security and territorial integrity in this exceptional context, Member States bordering Russia and Belarus must be able to act decisively.”
The EU has already taken several measures to counter the exploitation of migrants by Belarus in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland in 2021 and by Russia on the border with Finland in financial, operational, and diplomatic terms. Now, to further improve border surveillance, Brussels is providing €170 million to upgrade electronic surveillance equipment, improve telecommunications networks, deploy mobile detection equipment and counter drone intrusions.
Funds that will be distributed to the various countries involved: 19.4 million to Estonia, 50 million to Finland, 17 million to Latvia, 15.4 million to Lithuania, 52 million to Poland, and 16.4 million to Norway.
“Countries bordering Russia and Belarus, such as Finland with its 1,340-kilometre border with Russia, are facing the heavy challenge of ensuring the security of the Union and the territorial integrity of the member states,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
According to data released by Brussels, so far in 2024, irregular arrivals at the EU-Belarus border—particularly at the Polish-Belarusian border—have increased by 66 per cent compared to 2023. And nine out of every ten migrants crossing the Polish-Belarusian border illegally hold a Russian student or tourist visa.
“The autocrats must never be allowed to use our European values against us,” von der Leyen said.
However, the issue is complex because while member states have an obligation to protect the EU’s external borders, they must respect people’s fundamental rights and the principle of non-refoulement.
