EU imposes sanctions for transporting migrants through Belarus | News from Germany about Europe | Dw

On Thursday, December 2, new EU sanctions will come into force against those involved in the delivery of migrants to Belarus for their further transfer to the external borders of the European Union. On December 1, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU member states unanimously supported a package of corresponding penalties, which must now be approved by the EU Council. The publication of the decision on the sanctions in the official EU journal is scheduled for December 2.

17 people and 11 companies will be penalized. The sanctions list also includes the Belarusian state airline Belavia. She will no longer be able to use planes that are leased by European companies.

This measure is intended to prevent Belavia from transporting large numbers of people from the crisis zones to Belarus for their further advance to the EU countries. The Syrian airline Cham Wings, which also makes money on transporting migrants to Belarus, will also fall under the sanctions.

Lukashenka’s provoked migrant crisis

For several weeks, thousands of migrants have been trying to cross the Belarusian border and enter the EU. Brussels accuses Belarusian ruler Lukashenko of deliberately redirecting migrant flows from crisis regions to Minsk, then smuggling them into the EU in order to destabilize the situation in the West. To stop migrants, Belarus’ neighboring EU countries have erected barbed wire fences on their eastern borders.

In recent days, the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border has stabilized somewhat. However, small groups of migrants at night continue to attempt to break into Poland through barbed wire fences at the border. The Polish border service reported that on the night of November 30, there were 134 attempts to illegally cross the border from Belarus.

According to the European Commission, almost eight thousand migrants have already moved to the European Union through Belarus since the beginning of the year. Of these, 4,300 penetrated into Lithuania, 3,200 – into Poland and more than 400 – into Latvia.

See also:

• How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  On the border with Poland

  A large number of illegal migrants from Syria and Iraq have now accumulated on the border of Belarus and Poland, who are trying to get into the EU. They are trying to break through the barbed wire fence set up by Poland. In May, Lukashenka announced that Minsk would no longer deter refugees from further traveling to EU countries, and since then the number of illegal migrants has grown significantly.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  Trapped between Poland and Belarus

  Migrants are actually stuck on the border between Poland and Belarus. The Polish side does not allow them to enter the EU, pointing out that there are no grounds for entry and that they are an instrument of hybrid attacks on the part of Lukashenka. The ruler of Belarus is accused of provoking a migration crisis by organizing the transfer of thousands of illegal migrants to the EU borders.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  Delivered to the border from Minsk

  According to migrants, travel agencies in their countries sell air tickets to Minsk and issue them a 30-day visa. The cost together with the services of “carriers” is up to 20,000 euros. From Minsk, depending on the package of services purchased, they are either taken to the hotel or sent to the waiting room. When a group is recruited, they are put on a bus and taken to the border.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  The beginning of the journey of migrants from Iraq

  Most of the illegal migrants trying to get to the EU through Belarus are Iraqi citizens. They arrive in Minsk from three cities on the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan: Erbil, Shiladze and Sulaimaniyah. Under pressure from the EU, Iraq has canceled direct flights to Minsk from Baghdad since August. People also travel to Belarus from Syria, Afghanistan, Congo. Migrants reach Minsk via Dubai, Turkey, Lebanon and Ukraine.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  First – a flight to Minsk, then – the border with the EU

  Belarus has significantly increased the number of flights from the Middle East to Minsk. Until next March, about 40 weekly flights are planned from the airports of Istanbul, Damascus and Dubai to Minsk – twice as many as a year ago. The air harbors of these cities are currently most often used by migrants for flights to Belarus, in order to travel further to the EU countries.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  Flights with migrants not only at the Minsk airport

  Currently, about 800-1000 migrants arrive in Belarus every day. In this regard, five more Belarusian airports may soon be used to service flights from the Middle East. They will go from national to international. One of them is located in the city of Grodno, just 20 kilometers from the Polish border.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  What is happening in the Belarusian border area

  In the Belarusian legislation, nothing has changed regarding the visit of the border strip by citizens of Belarus and foreigners. To get here, you must first contact the border service, notify your intentions and get a pass. Violators face fines and deportation. But now there are many illegal immigrants in the border area. They are hiding in the woods, trying to cross the border with Poland.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  Through Belarusian forests – to Poland

  According to migrants, Belarusian border guards help them cross to the Polish side – they cut the barbed wire or find a safe loophole with the help of drones. And already in Poland, using geolocation in a smartphone, migrants determine the location of the person who will take them further. For example, to Germany.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  Migrants don’t want to stay in Poland

  According to the Dublin regulation, migrants must apply for asylum in the country where they first crossed the EU border. But in Poland refugees prefer not to register and leave their fingerprints in the EU fingerprint database. Many people succeed in this, and therefore the number of refugees that the German authorities can send back to Poland is extremely small.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  Refugee target – Germany

  Transport on the Polish side, as a rule, is a small cargo van, in the back of which 30-40 people are packed. An escort car drives ahead of the reconnaissance van. If suddenly there is a check on the road, the route changes. The Polish-German border is crossed in different ways: in the same van, on foot, and by taxi, and by public transport.

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  How the Belarusian transit of migrants to the EU works

  Refugees in Germany

  According to the German police, 4,900 migrants illegally entered the FRG through Belarus and Poland in October – twice as many as in September. All illegal migrants caught or voluntarily surrendered to the German authorities are found by police officers with passports stamped by Belarusian border guards.

  Author: Natalia Pozdnyakova

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