Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki calls the flow of migrants who want to illegally enter Poland from Belarus a threat to the entire European Union. Nearly 4,000 migrants are currently trying to enter the EU through Poland.
Closing the Polish border is of national importance, but the stability and security of the entire European Union are also at stake,” Morawiecki said on Twitter. “This attack by the Lukashenko regime is against all of us. We will not be intimidated and will defend peace in Europe with our partners from the EU and NATO.”
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has made a policy of collecting migrants from countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and then sending them to EU borders, according to the EU, to destabilize the EU. They would be counter-actions to sanctions imposed by the EU after the violent crackdown on protests.
Belarus denies having anything to do with the many refugees standing on the Polish border in Belarus. The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that the Polish allegations are unfounded. However, the country warns Poland against provocations at the border. “Armed attacks against unarmed civilians cannot be justified by pointing to the situation surrounding the migrants.”
Lithuania, another neighbouring country of Belarus, wants to declare a state of emergency for the border region up to 5 kilometres inland. The country is also a member of the EU, and here too many migrants want to cross the border. The emergency also extends to the refugee camps set up to accommodate all migrants. Although unrest arose at the border on Monday, the security services used tear gas to restore peace.
Germany and Poland also warned on Monday about a breakthrough at the border and the dangers of the influx. Many migrants travel as quickly as possible to Germany, where thousands of illegal migrants have already arrived in recent months. The countries point out that the whole EU should solve the problem and not just by Poland and Germany.