Poland, Austria and ten other EU countries are calling for more “physical barriers” at Europe’s external borders to prevent unwanted migration.
The EU legal framework must be changed so that “attempts to exploit illegal migration with political goals and other hybrid threats” can be adequately addressed, says a letter from twelve interior Ministers to the responsible EU Commissioners.
“Physical barriers seem to be an effective border protection measure that serves the interests of the entire EU.ยป
The countries demand that these should be financed “additionally and appropriately from the EU budget”. The letter was sent to EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas the day before the EU Interior Ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg on Friday.
The twelve ministers’ demands refer, for example, to the situation on the border between Belarus and the EU states of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is accused of trying to bring migrants from crisis regions to the EU’s external border in an organized way and thus destabilize the international community. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have already responded with increased border protection.
Germany, France, Spain and other countries where the large number of asylum applications are made have not signed the letter. Instead, they include Hungary, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Denmark.