Lithuania is left with nothing: the European Union will not finance “sharp wires and borders”
Since the beginning of the year, almost 4,200 illegal immigrants have entered Lithuania from Belarus. Both Latvia and Poland are currently forced to fight the smuggling of Lukashenko. And without a physical barrier at the border, this struggle is unimaginable.
But it looks like we will have to take care of the protection of the EU’s external border as a whole – at least for now. In the second round of EVS negotiations in Brussels, President Gitanas Nausėda took a clear position: “We should also talk about the physical border, the physical barrier.”
According to the President, Lithuania cannot take care of the entire EU external border at its own expense. This was supported by some other countries.
“It cannot be the case that only a few countries bear the full burden of seeking help,” said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
The Austrian chancellor says we need to act fast.
“The last few months show that migration is not decreasing, but only increasing. I think it is very important to pay attention to the external border, “assured the Austrian Chancellor Alexander Shallenberg.
Unfortunately, after several hours of negotiations, the President of the European Commission stated that neither Lithuania nor Latvia and Poland would receive a funding barrier at the border.
“We really discussed physical barriers. I have made it clear that there is a long-standing position of the European Commission and Parliament, there will be no funding for sharp materials and borders, ”said Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
But, according to our president, five hours of negotiations did not end in defeat.
“It simply came to our notice then. And I can say that all 27 states have a good understanding now of the scale of the problem we have been here with. First of all, we managed to make it clear in the EVS protocol or conclusions that what is happening against Lithuania, Latvia and Poland is a hybrid attack, ”G. Nausėda assured.
European leaders have also called on the EC to make changes to its asylum policy in order to combat illegal smuggling effectively.
By the way, this EVS was already the 107th and probably the last for the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Leaders called it both a “source of peace” and a “compromise machine.” In the compromise, this time Merkel called for a search of Brussels and Warsaw in the dispute over the rule of law.
“It’s important to speak out and reject any theories that sometimes sound like conspiracies. I want to see that we have nothing against Poland – we are talking about how we understand the fundamental principles of law, ”Merkel said.
“It’s important to speak out and reject any theories that sometimes sound like conspiracies. I want to see that we have nothing against Poland – we are talking about how we understand the fundamental principles of law, ”said French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Polish prime minister during the test of the negotiations that his country’s judicial reform and the Constitutional Tribunal’s statements that EU law is not superior to Poland – does not threaten the values of the community.
“Poland has no problems of the rule of law. Just some countries do not understand our reforms, “said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
But Brussels was not convinced. Most European leaders agreed to continue blocking payments to Poland from the bloc’s economic recovery fund and to prepare new sanctions for Warsaw if the situation does not change.