German interior minister proposes Frontex aid at Poland-Belarus border

by dpa | 31.Oct 2024 | Europe in brief

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Nancy Faeser recommends that Frontex forces are deployed in Połowce on the Poland-Belarus border. According to Poland and the EU, Russia and Belarus are responsible for transferring migrants to the EU’s external border to destabilise the 27-member bloc.

Mitglieder einer Grenzschutzpatrouille stehen am Grenzübergang Polowce-Pieszczatka während des Besuchs des polnischen Innen- und Verwaltungsministers Siemoniak und der deutschen Innenministerin Faeser in der Nähe des Dorfes Polowce an der Grenze zu Belarus. Faeser hat einen Einsatz der EU-Grenzschutzagentur Frontex an Polens Grenze zu Belarus vorgeschlagen.
Members of a border patrol stand at the Połowce-Pieszczatka border crossing during the visit of Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser near the village of Połowce on the border with Belarus. Photo: Artur Reszko/PAP/dpa
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Warsaw (dpa) – German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has proposed that the European Union border protection agency Frontex be deployed to Poland’s border with Belarus amid accusations that Belarus and Russia are transporting migrants to the EU’s external border.

During a visit near the border crossing in the north-eastern Polish village Połowce, Faeser said that the EU’s common asylum system should also provide for stronger protection of the bloc’s external borders. “And that’s why I can imagine Frontex providing support here, too, where a large number of German police officers would be involved,” she said.

Poland and the EU accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ally, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, of organising the transfer of migrants from war-torn and impoverished regions to the EU’s external border in order to pressure the EU over sanctions and destabilise the bloc.

Despite the construction of a five-metre-high fence and an electronic surveillance system, migrants continue to try to cross the border irregularly every day.

Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak emphasised that his country is counting above all on the EU’s financial contribution to the development of border security. He added that cooperation between border guards and police in Germany and Poland is also important in the fight against people smugglers.

Polish Prime Minister and former President of the European Council Donald Tusk recently announced that his country intends to temporarily suspend the right to asylum for migrants who cross the border with Belarus irregularly.

Faeser said she had not come to Poland to comment on Tusk’s statements and that there is currently no new legislation, which must first be decided upon by the Polish parliament. “I assume that our neighbouring country will abide by international and European law just as we do,” she added. (30 October)

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