EU does not record illegal border crossings for the first time since 2021

November 30, Pozirk. The European Union did not register any border violations at its border to Belarus for the first time since the start of the illegal migrant crisis in 2021.

However, Polish border guards said they have not allowed at least 23 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus in the early hours of November 30, including nationals of Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded at least 41,312 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 25,077 attempts via Poland, 13,728 via Latvia and 2,507 via Lithuania.

Pozirk‘s analysis of daily stats indicated fluctuated but steady tension at the Belarusian-EU border throughout the year. Illegal border crossings peaked at 5,474 in October, exceeding the previous record high of 5,054 in July. In November, illegal migrants attempted to cross the Belarusian-EU border as many as 2,614 times.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border started in spring 2021 after Alaksandar Łukašenka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent migrants from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU. It escalated in November 2021, with hundreds of migrants storming the Polish border.

The Baltic states and Poland accused Belarusian authorities of creating the trouble, while the latter blamed it on the West.

On August 28, the interior ministers of Poland and the Baltic States warned that they would close the border with Belarus in case of a surge in illegal migration.