The protection of the EU’s external border was a central topic at the meeting co-organized by Austria. Lithuania responded to an increase in refugees from Belarus with a border fence.
At the border protection conference in Lithuania, co-organized by Austria, 16 countries signed a joint declaration. The conference took place in Vilnius on Friday at the invitation of Austria, Greece, Poland and Lithuania. Among other things, the statement calls for “appropriate support” including financial resources for member states on the EU’s external border. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) described the meeting as a success.
The central topic was once again the protection of the EU’s external borders. The conference was attended by 15 ministers and EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson, who is responsible for migration. She pointed out that the Commission has limited financial resources for migration. Countries should be careful what they ask, money can only be spent once, Johansson said. In the past, the EU Commission had already rejected demands from the federal states for the assumption of costs for the construction of border fences to ward off refugees.
“We, as co-organizers, are very happy that 16 countries have signed the declaration,” said Karner after the conference. The declaration contains five key points. This includes robust external border protection, consistent returns, strategic cooperation with third countries, fast procedures and the fight against people smugglers. There are sometimes different approaches to how the measures to protect the external borders should be implemented. “But I am convinced that we are on the right track,” said the Austrian Minister of the Interior. We want to form alliances of reason,” said Karner beforehand. When it comes to migration, the member states should concentrate on those issues on which there is consensus.
Vienna organizes next meeting
All EU and Schengen countries as well as representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European police authority Europol, the EU border protection agency Frontex, the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) were invited to the conference. In a month Austria will be holding a conference in Vienna on the subject of returning migrants, which Karner sees as the next step.
Before the meeting, the ministers inspected the border fence on the EU’s external border with Belarus (Belarus). According to Lithuania, the situation at the border is currently stable, and Johansson also spoke of a “clear de-escalation” of the situation.
In recent months, thousands of migrants have tried to get from Belarus to Poland or the Baltic states via the EU’s external borders. The EU accuses Lukashenko of having flown people from crisis areas like Iraq or Afghanistan to Minsk in order to then smuggle them into the EU – almost in revenge for EU sanctions against the authoritarian Lukashenko regime for election manipulation and the brutal suppression of all opposition . Lithuania was particularly hard hit by the refugee crisis at first, and later Poland was particularly hard hit.
The government in Vilnius has responded by increasing border protection and building hundreds of kilometers of border fences. 175 kilometers have already been reached. The steel barrier on the border with Belarus is up to four meters high, additionally secured by barbed wire and video surveillance. The border between the two countries is 679 kilometers long and partly runs through rivers and lakes.
Lithuania continues to deploy soldiers at the border
Lithuania will also continue to deploy soldiers at the border. The parliament in Vilnius only extended the military’s broader powers by three months until May 13 on Thursday. This allows soldiers to continue to stop and search vehicles and people in the border area. According to government information, more than 1,000 soldiers are currently supporting the border guards in their work.
(WHAT)