{"id":173595,"date":"2026-01-30T11:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T08:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/173595\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"eu-considers-visa-restrictions-on-countries-that-weaponize-migration","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/173595\/","title":{"rendered":"EU considers visa restrictions on countries that weaponize migration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

January<\/strong> 30, Pozirk<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong> The European Union is weighing visa restrictions on countries it says \u201cweaponize migration,\u201d a step likely to target Belarus over accusations of state-orchestrated migrant flows.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe continued issuance of visas (particularly for non-essential travel purposes, such as tourism, leisure, or unofficial visits) might no longer be considered appropriate as it could pose tangible risks to the Union\u2019s security, public policy, or international relations,\u201d says a communication<\/a> from the European Parliament and the Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese measures can be applied for certain categories of applicants (e.g. diplomatic or service passport holders) or all categories of applicants. This mechanism is a powerful tool to influence cooperation on the part of third countries on readmission through a common European approach,\u201d the paper says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSafeguards should be built in to provide sufficient flexibility to issue visas for human rights defenders, dissidents, independent journalists, members of civil society organisations, and other humanitarian and exceptional cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus\u2019 western neighbors reported 42,714 irregular entries in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flow of people desperate to cross into the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2021, the Belarusian government suspended a readmission agreement with the EU in response to sanctions that followed the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia, Lithuania and Poland call the migration crisis a \u201chybrid attack\u201d orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No irregular Belarus-EU crossings reported since January 21<\/h3>\n
January 29, Pozirk. The neighboring European Union countries did not record irregular crossings by third-country undocumented foreigners via Belarus between January 21 and 28, according to Pozirk's analysis of border guards' data. Latvia has not reported any attempts since year's …<\/div>\n \n