Belarus – Eye on Islamism

Poland accused of brutality as Belarus border crackdown escalates The EU has poured millions into Poland’s border enforcement — even as human rights groups accuse Warsaw of illegal pushbacks.

March 18, 2025 Bartosz Brzeziński

(Politico) Polish border forces regularly force migrants back into Belarus, with reports of people being beaten, stripped of their clothes and left stranded in forests without food, shelter or medical care, according to a new report from Oxfam and Polish nongovernmental organization […]

Irregular migration into EU drops sharply in 2024, EU border agency says

January 14, 2025 Jan Strupczewski

(Reuters) The number of migrants entering the European Union by [irregular] routes dropped overall by 38% in 2024, reaching the lowest level since 2021, the EU border agency Frontex said on Tuesday. However, the number of people crossing from the EU’s borders […]

The EU wants to deport migrants. It needs the help of Syria’s Assad Syria is the elephant in the room as EU leaders talk migration.

October 16, 2024 Nicholas Vinocur and Barbara Moens

(Politico) Some European Union countries, led by Italy, are pushing to normalize ties with Syria in order to facilitate deportations of migrants as mainstream leaders look to replicate anti-immigrant far-right parties’ surging popularity across the continent. “It is necessary to review the […]

Belgium strongly rejects Hungary’s ‘provocation’ to bus migrants to Brussels The showdown between Budapest and Brussels over migration policy and the rule of law is quickly escalating.

September 9, 2024 Jorge Liboreiro

(Euronews) The Belgian government on Monday came forcefully against Hungary’s intended plan to bus migrants to Brussels in retaliation for the €200 million fine imposed in June by the European Court of Justice, which Budapest refuses to pay. No transfer has yet […]

Finland scrambles to close new migrant route via Russia to Europe

June 11, 2024 Anne Kauranen and Riham Alkousaa

(Reuters) Only the whine of mosquitoes mars the tranquility of this idyllic spot amid the rolling forests and blue lakes of eastern Finland, on the European Union’s longest border with Russia. But Finnish authorities fear the peace and quiet of places like […]

Tensions flare on Poland-Belarus border as more migrants arrive

June 8, 2024 Barbara Erling, Kuba Stezycki and Kacper Pempel

(Reuters) Surrounded by lush forests, a dozen people huddled near a razor-tipped fence along the Belarus border, waiting for a chance to scale it or push aside its slats to head west into Poland. On the other side, armed Polish border guards […]

Polish police at Belarus border ordered to carry guns amid ‘growing aggression’ from migrants

June 7, 2024 Alicja Ptak

(Notes from Poland) Police officers serving on the border with Belarus have been ordered to carry firearms due to “growing aggression” from migrants. There have recently been several attacks on Polish officers and yesterday a soldier died after being stabbed while attempting […]

Controversy after Polish soldiers charged for firing warning shots at migrants crossing Belarus border

June 6, 2024 Daniel Tilles

(Notes from Poland) Politicians from both the government and opposition have reacted angrily after news emerged that three soldiers were detained by military police for firing warning shots at a group of migrants trying to force their way across the border from […]

Polish soldier dies after clash with migrants on Belarus border As Poles prepare to vote in the EU election on June 9, the soldier’s death could provide a boost to anti-immigrant parties.

June 6, 2024 Seb Starcevic

(Politico) A Polish soldier has died after being stabbed by a migrant on the country’s border with Belarus, Warsaw’s military said Thursday. The soldier was involved in a clash with migrants attempting to cross Poland’s northeast border from Belarus on May 28, […]

Why Poland says Russia and Belarus are weaponizing migration to benefit Europe’s far right

June 4, 2024 Rafal Niedzielski and Czarek Sokolowski

(AP) A Somali woman pushes her bandaged hand between two vertical bars of a thick metal barrier separating Belarus from Poland as she and four other women gaze toward the European Union. They nod gratefully as a Polish humanitarian aid worker calls […]

Poland’s leader says the border with Belarus will be further fortified after a soldier is stabbed

May 29, 2024 Czarek Sokolowski

(AP) Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Wednesday that its forces would further fortify the border with Belarus and can use “all available means” to defend the NATO nation’s frontier, after a soldier was seriously wounded with a knife by a migrant. […]

Migrant stabs Polish soldier at Belarusian border

May 28, 2024 Unlisted Author

(TVP) A migrant attempting to illegally cross the border from Belarus into Poland stabbed a Polish soldier on Tuesday, the deputy interior minister reported. The soldier was immediately taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. The attack occurred during a […]

Poland busts migrant smugglers suspected of funding armed groups

May 7, 2024 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Poland has dismantled an alleged migrant trafficking network at the Polish-Belarusian border which was suspected of providing millions of dollars in financing to armed groups like Hezbollah, prosecutors said Tuesday. Thirty-six Polish, Ukrainian, Iraqi and Belarusian members of the alleged network […]

More EU countries threaten to close Russian borders amid migrant surge Latvia and Lithuania say they are monitoring the situation, after Finland accused Moscow of ‘cynical’ actions.

December 4, 2023 Gabriel Gavin

(Politico) A growing number of asylum seekers arriving on the EU’s eastern frontier is forcing Baltic countries to consider border closures with Russia, due to fears the Kremlin is weaponizing desperate people to create a migration crisis on the continent. Latvia, Lithuania […]

Finland will close its entire border with Russia over migrant concerns

November 28, 2023 Jari Tanner

(AP) Finland said Tuesday it will close its last remaining border crossing with Russia amid concerns that Moscow is using migrants as part of “hybrid warfare” to destabilize the Nordic country following its entry into NATO. Finland already had shut seven of […]

Why Finland is blaming Russia for a sudden influx of migrants on its eastern border

November 25, 2023 Vanessa Gera and Jari Tanner

(AP) When Finland joined NATO earlier this year, Russia threatened retaliation. Now, hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Africa have appeared at Finland’s border from Russia, seeking entry into the Nordic country. Finnish officials say the sudden surge in asylum-seekers […]

As election nears, Polish PM warns of ‘Islamic fighters’ among migrants

October 12, 2023 Alan Charlish

(Reuters) Islamic militants will be among migrants heading for Europe as a result of the conflict in Israel, Poland’s prime minister said on Thursday, as his governing party burnishes its anti-immigrant credentials in the run-up to a national election. The nationalist Law […]

Latvia to shut one of two Belarus border crossings to stop illegal migrants

September 19, 2023 Andrius Sytas and Janis Laizans

(Reuters) Latvia’s government decided on Tuesday to close one of its two border crossing points with Belarus as the prime minister accused Minsk of again using illegal migrants as a “hybrid threat” to undermine the Baltic state’s security. In 2021, Latvia, Poland […]

Latvia grows worried over a surge of migrants attempting to cross from Belarus

September 12, 2023 Jari Tanner

(AP) Latvia is growing worried over the increasing number of migrants attempting to cross over into the Baltic nation through the border with Belarus and has called up the military to assist border guards. Latvia’s State Border Guard said on Tuesday that […]

Poland’s government wants to ask voters loaded questions on border security as part of election

August 14, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AP) Poland’s government said Monday it wants to ask voters whether they want dismantled a recently-built border wall that blocks unauthorized migration from Belarus. The loaded question is one of four the right-wing ruling party wants to ask in a referendum it […]

Polish government plans referendum asking if voters want ‘thousands of illegal immigrants’

August 13, 2023 Vanessa Gera

(AP) Poland’s ruling party wants to ask voters in a referendum whether they support accepting “thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa” as part of a European Union relocation plan, the prime minister said Sunday, as his conservative party […]

Poland says Belarus, Russia ‘organising’ new migrant influx

August 7, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Poland’s government on Monday accused Belarus and Russia of orchestrating another migration influx into the European Union via the Polish border in order to destabilise the region. “We’re talking about an operation organised by the Russian and Belarusian secret services that […]

EU migration deal faces delays after talks snag EU countries need to finalize the text of the entire deal before the European Parliament can give its go-ahead.

July 26, 2023 Gregorio Sorgi

(Politico) Bitter infighting on Wednesday derailed EU ambassadors’ attempts to finish off the last plank of the EU’s flagship migration reform. As a result, officials will have to break for the summer without completing work on the overall package, which would reshape […]

Poland, Lithuania fear new migrant crisis due to Belarus’ offer of visa-free travel

June 2, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AP) Belarus is introducing a visa-free travel arrangement with dozens of countries for a month, raising fears that neighboring Poland and Lithuania might see a sudden increase in unauthorized migration. The authoritarian president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, signed a decree allowing citizens […]

Lithuania passes legislation allowing border guards to turn back migrants

April 25, 2023 Andrius Sytas

(Reuters) Lithuania’s parliament passed legislation on Tuesday allowing border guards to turn back migrants who cross its frontier illegally, brushing away concerns from human rights organizations. Lithuania, Poland and Latvia have reported a sharp increase since 2021 in migrants from countries such […]

Lithuania seeks compensation from Belarus for migrant crisis

April 6, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AP) Lithuania is seeking up to 120 million euros in compensation from Belarus, accusing its eastern neighbor of orchestrating the immigration of thousands of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East. Since 2021, when the European Union imposed sanctions on Belarus […]

Brussels urges guidelines for NGO boats amid France-Italy migrant feud The proposal is part of a broader plan to help reduce a new influx of migrants.

November 21, 2022 Jacopo Barigazzi

(Politico) The European Commission is pushing to create guidelines for the NGO boats rescuing migrants off Europe’s shores as part of a plan to reduce the number of asylum seekers heading to the Continent. The plan, presented Monday by the European Commission, […]

EU border agency says illegal migration entries spiking

November 14, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AP) The European Union’s border agency said Monday that the number of illegal entries by migrants spiked to more than 275,000 in the January through October period this year. The figure is 73% higher than at the same time in 2021, and […]

Migrant border crossings rise at Poland-Belarus border

November 4, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AP) The Polish border service on Friday reported an increase in the number of Middle Eastern migrants trying to illegally cross into the European Union at the border of Belarus and Poland. In the past 24 hours, border agents detained 117 migrants […]

Latvia calls watchdog’s migrant mistreatment claims ‘absurd’

October 13, 2022 Jari Tanner

(AP) Latvia on Thursday rejected as “absurd” claims by Amnesty International that it is violently mistreating migrants attempting to enter the European Union member country through Belarus. The human rights watchdog said in a report released Thursday that Latvian authorities have violently […]

Lithuania completes Belarus border fence

August 29, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Lithuania on Monday said it had finished building a fence along its border with Belarus to fight illegal immigration which the West accuses Minsk of orchestrating. Illegal immigration has soared in EU member Lithuania this year, with around 4,200 migrants mainly […]

Poland sees rise of African migrants coming through Russia

August 4, 2022 Vanessa Gera

(AP) Polish officials on Thursday reported a change in migration patterns across the country’s border with Belarus, with Africans who first traveled to Russia making up most of those seeking to enter Poland illegally by that route instead of people from the […]

Poland completes Belarus border wall to keep migrants out

June 30, 2022 Vanessa Gera and Kirsten Grieshaber

(AP) A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and top security officials visited the border area on Thursday to mark the completion of a new steel wall. On Friday, Polish […]

Kurdish asylum seekers on hunger strike in Poland

May 27, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Ten Kurdish asylum seekers in Poland on Friday entered their third week of a hunger strike to protest what they described as prison-like conditions and a slow immigration process. “The strike began on May 4,” said Dagmara Bielec, a spokeswoman for […]

Polish pushbacks to Belarus go on as Ukrainians welcomed

April 1, 2022 Stanislaw Waszak

(AFP) Poland has welcomed two million refugees from war-torn Ukraine at lightning speed and with open arms. Yet just north of that border, the EU member continues to push back those crossing from Belarus. Since last summer, thousands of migrants and refugees […]

EU official: Turkey will gain by curbing migration to Cyprus

February 20, 2022 Menelaos Hadjicostis

(AP) Turkey “has much to gain” if it works with the European Union to stem migrant arrivals from its airports and shores to the ethnically divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus, a top EU official said Sunday. European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas […]

More than 500,000 Afghan migrants are heading for Europe and the Channel coast (LINK ONLY)

February 12, 2022 EoI News

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EU nations agree step-by-step approach to migration reform

February 3, 2022 Sylvie Corbet and Lorne Cook

(AP) European Union interior ministers on Thursday agreed to create a new decision-making body amid efforts to beef up the 27-nation bloc’s borders, and to kick-start desperately needed reforms to the EU’s malfunctioning asylum system on a step-by-step basis. The EU has […]

Macron takes aim at migration with eye on French election

February 2, 2022 Sylvie Corbet

(AP) French President Emmanuel Macron is taking aim at migration — a core issue in the country’s presidential campaign — by pushing to strengthen the European Union’s external borders against people illegally entering the bloc’s passport-free area. Macron is expected to run […]

Poland begins work on new EU-Belarus border wall

January 25, 2022 Bernard Osser

(AFP) Polish contractors began work on Tuesday on a 353-million-euro wall along the Belarus border aimed at deterring migrant crossings following a crisis in the area last year. The 5.5-metre-high wall will run along 186 kilometres (115 miles) of the border — […]

EU nations urge stronger borders to ease migration pressures

January 21, 2022 David Keyton and Monika Scislowska

(AP) Ministers from European Union nations under pressure from unauthorized border crossings asked Friday for more action to protect the bloc’s external borders as well as for rules to return migrants to their homelands or where they started their journeys. Interior ministers […]

Poland: Some 600 migrant crossings foiled this year

January 18, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AP) Poland’s Border Guard authorities say that almost 600 attempts by migrants at illegally crossing the border from Belarus have been foiled so far this year. The attempts have continued since their peak in the fall, but the number of registered tries […]

Iraq says almost 4,000 repatriated from Belarus borders

January 16, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Baghdad has repatriated almost 4,000 of its citizens stuck on the Belarus borders with European Union members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in recent weeks, Iraq’s foreign minister said Sunday. Since November 18, the Iraqi government has organised “10 flights from Baghdad […]

Latvia, Lithuania, Poland rapped over Belarus border methods

January 13, 2022 Lorne Cook

(AP) Latvia, Lithuania and Poland continue to use questionable methods to keep out migrants trying to enter from Belarus and are denying access to aid groups trying to help people stuck in border areas, senior U.N. refugee agency and European Union officials […]

Lithuania will not extend state of emergency at Belarus border

January 5, 2022 Andrius Sytas

(Reuters) The Lithuanian government on Wednesday decided against extending a state of emergency along the country’s border with Belarus and at camps hosting migrants who had arrived from the country, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said. EU member states accuse Belarus of encouraging […]

Migration back to the forefront of EU politics in 2021

December 29, 2021 Aida Sanchez Alonso and Christopher Pitchers

(Euronews) Migration once again became a key issue for Europe this past year as tensions flared up at the EU’s border with Belarus. Hundreds of migrants gathered at the bloc’s border as the EU accused Belarus of waging a hybrid war and […]

Migrants camped in Belarus warehouse still hope to get to EU

December 24, 2021 Lev Sergeev and Maxim Shemetov

(Reuters) Sleeping on mattresses in a Belarusian warehouse, hundreds of Middle Eastern migrants are still clinging to the hope of a future in western Europe as the year draws to a close. The nearly 600 migrants, from countries including Iraq, Turkey, Iran […]

Lithuania extends migrant detention limit to a year

December 23, 2021 Nerijus Adomaitis

(Reuters) Migrants who cross into Lithuania from Belarus can be detained for up to a year, the Lithuanian parliament decided on Thursday, increasing an initial six-month detention limit. Eighty-one lawmakers backed the lengthening of the six-month detention period, which was introduced in […]

Lithuania says migrant numbers from Belarus could soon increase

December 20, 2021 Andrius Sytas and Pavel Polityuk

(Reuters) [The] Lithuanian Interior Ministry said Belarus authorities have ordered migrants to be cleared from a warehouse near the Polish border and from Minsk, which could lead to renewed attempts to push the migrants in large numbers into the European Union. At […]

Virus and migrant worries spur EU to toughen border rules

December 14, 2021 Lorne Cook

(AP) The European Union on Tuesday launched a major revamp of the rules governing the movement of people and goods into and around Europe as coronavirus restrictions and fears over a “hybrid attack” from Belarus using migrants are placing increasing strains on […]