Soaring illegal Belarus-EU border crossings fuel migration crisis in March
April 3, Pozirk. Attempts by third-country nationals to illegally cross from Belarus into the European Union (EU) soared 44-fold in March from January’s level, border guards’ data shows.
Last month, Poland did not allow at least 3,438 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus, after thwarting 356 attempts in February and 87 in January.
The Latvian border guards recorded 684 attempts in March after reporting 75 attempts in February and just five in January.
Last month, 105 illegal migrants tried to cross from Belarus into Lithuania, after reported 27 and four attempts in February and January, respectively.
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.
In June 2021, the Belarusian government announced the suspension of a readmission agreement with the EU in response to sanctions that followed the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.
The Baltic states and Poland accused Belarusian authorities of creating the trouble, while the latter blamed it on the West.
In August 2023, the interior ministers of Poland and the Baltic States warned that they would close the border with Belarus in response to a surge in illegal migration.
Illegal Belarus-EU border crossings up 12.6 year on year in March
- Rights defenders question Łukašenka’s claim of 700,000 signatures collected in his favorThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, PoliticsŁukašenka: “God forbid a woman to get elected”The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- Economy
- PoliticsBelarusian envoy: trade with Seoul soars despite sanctionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- EconomyLithuania pulls out of double taxation treaty with BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsOpposition leader to meet Estonia's top politicians next weekThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: two exiled ex-officers charged with terrorismThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsCouncil of Europe, Lithuania agree to establish information point for Belarusians in VilniusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsPoland satisfies most asylum requests from BelarusiansThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Politics, SocietyBrest region’s largest language school cancels classesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Security
- Economy
- Economy
- PoliticsRussian drone incursions into Belarus reported on four consecutive nightsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityDefense minister holds training session for top military officersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- Elections, Politics
- PoliticsReprisals: Latvian national on trial in MinskThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Elections, PoliticsGeneral Bobrykaŭ, Čamadanava pull out of presidential raceThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja meets with Spain’s secretary for EU affairsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsKaleśnikava’s picture published after 21 months incommunicadoThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Politics
- PoliticsRussian drone incursions reported third night in a rowThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBrest region’s prosecutors lecturing kindergarten children about genocideThe material is available only to POZIRK+