Tusk explains why Poland introduced controls on borders with Germany and Lithuania
Poland's regaining control of its borders with Germany and Lithuania is necessary to stop the flow of illegal migration from Russia and Belarus. This was stated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a briefing with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schof, according to The Guardian.
The Polish prime minister reiterated Warsaw's main argument that illegal migration flows in Europe were organized by self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and supported by the Kremlin.
Tusk said that the increased militarization of the Polish border guard service on the border with Belarus has succeeded in stopping 98% of all attempts to cross the border, but warned that "all this will not make any sense if the EU's other external borders are not guarded as strictly".
He added that the decision to re-establish control on the border with Lithuania is intended to identify all cases when someone cannot get to Poland from Belarus and then passes through the Baltic states.
The politician also provided more details about the four Afghan nationals stopped at the Polish-Lithuanian border, saying they had previously been registered as trying to illegally cross the border from Belarus.
The Polish Prime Minister emphasized that the new control will allow the Polish authorities to thoroughly check every case when a suspected illegal migrant was rejected by the German border service and then sent back to Poland.
"It will no longer be the case that anyone who crossed the border illegally and whose documents are incomplete or unclear will be sent to Poland from anywhere – from Germany or any other country," he continued.
He then added that Warsaw is doing this for the entire EU.
- On April 4, 2025, it was reported that Poland would conduct an information campaign in seven countries to combat illegal migration.
- On July 1, it became known that the Polish government would introduce temporary border controls with Germany and Lithuania due to the escalation of the dispute with its EU neighbors over illegal migration.
