EU ministers will hold crisis negotiations on what they believe Belarus proposes to pressure Lithuania and the rest of the EU by encouraging the influx of immigrants.
Slovenia, which holds the rotating EU presidency, stated that the talks will be conducted through a video conference on August 18 under the crisis response mechanism.
The interior ministers from 27 member states and representatives of Frontex border agencies, European Asylum Support Office and Europol were invited.
A spokesperson for the rotating EU presidency of Slovenia said: “Due to the situation on the border between Lithuania and Belarus, the EU faces serious security threats and is a testament to the weaponization of illegal Belarusian immigration supported by the state.”
“The situation is complex and involves different actors. The Minister of the Interior can only deal with one aspect of the situation and clearly requires further action at the European level.”
On Thursday (August 5), the European Union’s foreign affairs department summoned the Belarusian high-level envoy in Brussels to demand an end to the “instrumentalization” of immigration into Lithuania.
Brussels accused the strongman Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately encouraging unauthorized new arrivals, mainly Iraqi immigrants, in retaliation for the sanctions imposed on his regime.
Lithuanian border guards have begun to stop new arrivals, and Brussels urged Iraq, the country of origin for many potential refugees, to stop flights to Minsk.
The head of EU foreign policy Jose Porrell warned last month that EU member states are enacting tougher sanctions to increase the sanctions already targeted at Lukashenko and his allies.
These may be approved at the EU ministerial meeting on September 21.
The EU sanctions blacklist has targeted 166 people, including Lukashenko and his two sons, as well as 15 companies and institutions associated with the Belarusian government.
