Von der Leyen commits to increased funding for EU border protection

August 31, Pozirk. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced an increase in funding for the protection of the European Union’s eastern borders, Polish media report.
She made this statement while visiting the section of the Polish-Belarusian border near Krynki in the Podlaskie voivodeship together with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Both politicians spoke to journalists in front of the Polish border fence, despite border guards’ advice to postpone the event after armed Belarusian soldiers were spotted nearby.
“I am here today to express Europe’s full solidarity with Poland as a frontline state,” the European Commission’s press office quoted von der Leyen as saying. “For years now, you and the Polish people have been facing deliberate and cynical hybrid attacks. . . Europe stands with you in all possible ways. . . We are tripling the investment in migration and border management and protection.”
Member states with a direct border with Russia and Belarus will receive additional European funding as Europe’s borders are a shared responsibility, the politician stressed.
“We have to keep the sense of urgency because we know that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has and will not change. . . We know by experience he can only be kept in check through strong deterrence,” von der Leyen added.
Tusk described the migration crisis ongoing at the EU borders with Belarus since 2021 as a hybrid war, noting that Minsk and Moscow organized groups of people to physically attack the Polish and European borders.
The flow of people desperate to get to the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar Łukašenka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU.
Von der Leyen to visit EU-Belarus border
- PoliticsŁukašenka to attend CIS summit in Turkmenistan this weekThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- Politics, Security
- PoliticsBelarus top diplomat: anything possible in relations with WashingtonThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityIran’s special forces unit to join SCO counterterrorism drill in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsEU to remove businessmen Gutseriev, Šaŭcoŭ from Belarus sanctions list – reportThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarus posts fastest agricultural growth in Russia-led bloc in January-AugustThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyŁukašenka regime adapts reprisals to maximize reach – think tankThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarusians net sellers of foreign currency in January-SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsPrague to issue short-term visas to families of Belarusian exilesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyCatholic priest accused of high treason on trial in MinskThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarus drops to fifth spot among top non-EU importers of Polish applesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityLithuania to prioritize border security during its EU presidencyThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyTwo women convicted for allegedly smuggling 53 foreigners into BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, Security
- Economy
- SecurityPoland building up drone forces within 100 km of BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsViasna: 4,815 people declared political prisoners since 2020The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, SocietyBelarus announces another rise in fuel pricesThe material is available only to POZIRK+



