Several senior EU officials called for widespread sanctions on Minsk on Monday night (November 8) because of increased tensions at the border between Belarus and Poland and a large number of migrants trying to cross the EU border.
Earlier on Monday (November 8), Poland strengthened its borders with Belarus after immigrants gathered in the area hoping to enter Polish territory.
When EURACTIV requested an estimate, the Polish Border Guard spoke on Tuesday morning (November 9) about the estimated number of “thousands” of immigrants in the Polish-Belarusian border area.
Warsaw also warned that thousands more are on the road, and future attempts to breach its borders may be “essentially armed.”Polish Ministry of the Interior Said It cracked down on several attempts to sabotage the border and stated that the situation was under control.
At the same time, the Polish Border Guard will stop the border traffic of goods and people at the affected Kuznica border crossing early on Tuesday morning. Announce.
European Commission President Ursula von der Lein called on EU member states to “finally approve the extension of sanctions against the Belarusian authorities responsible for the mixed attack.”
Belarus must stop putting people’s lives at risk.
I and @MorawieckiM @IngridaSimonyte @krisjaniskarins
I call for approval of the extension of sanctions and possible sanctions on third-country airlines involved.
We also want to prevent humanitarian crises and ensure a safe return
-Ursula von der Lein (@vonderleyen) November 8, 2021
Two senior EU officials-European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas and EU Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell-will travel to the main source countries of migrants to “ensure that they take action to prevent their nationals from falling into the trap set by the Belarusian authorities,” Feng Delane said.
Sanctions airlines
Von der Lein pointed out that the European Union “will explore how to sanction third-country airlines that are active in human trafficking, including by blacklisting them.”
The EU will also discuss with UN agencies how to prevent humanitarian crises in border areas.
Her words were endorsed by Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for the Interior. Said The EU’s “top priority is to shut down supplies to Minsk Airport”.
Lithuania first proposed this idea before the summer, and its Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis (Gabrielius Landsbergis) Confirm with EURACTIV In July, official entities, such as airlines and travel agencies, participated in organized human trafficking through Belarus.
“Participation in human trafficking is illegal everywhere-if we can track who is doing it, especially if it is an official agency, then it will be sanctioned,” Landsbergs said afterwards.
In a call with Borrell on Monday, Landsbergs called for these measures to also be extended to Belarusian airports.
“all airline People in the world should understand that they are criminal The regime flies to Belarus,” he said.
An earlier round of sanctions imposed in June hit the country’s key sectors of potash, oil and tobacco, while EU sanctions currently target 166 Belarusian regime officials, including Lukashenko and his two sons.
“If necessary, we will not hesitate to impose sanctions on companies and countries falling into the hands of smugglers,” Borrell had already warned in mid-October.
“The migrants received visas and air tickets, and a plane was ready to transport them to Minsk, from where they were taken to the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland,” he continued.
However, so far, member states have been cautious in taking the next step.
The fifth sanctions plan is under development, and more specific recommendations may be submitted to the EU foreign minister at the regular meeting next week.
Sidewall discussion
At the same time, as a neighboring country of Poland, Germany, which has seen a sharp increase in immigration from Belarus through the eastern border, urged the European Union to “act” to help stop the movement of people from Belarus.
According to the German authorities, this number reached nearly 5,000 in October alone. In response, the Berlin government has responded by strengthening border controls and deploying additional police.
“Poland or Germany cannot handle this alone,” said Horst Seehofer, the Minister of the Caretaker of the Interior. pictureUrged the EU to “stand together.”
“We must help the Polish government protect their external borders. This is actually the task of the European Commission. I now call on them to take action,” he said.
Seehofer also repeated his previous Annotation He supports Poland’s decision to build a border wall.
Twelve EU member states In October, Brussels was asked to pay for barriers preventing illegal immigrants from entering the European Union. However, the current EU Schengen border law currently does not foresee physical barriers as a measure to protect the EU’s external borders.
Brussels has so far avoided providing border wall funding for member states, insisting that the current legal framework only allows it to use EU budget funds for the “border management system.”
