Readers were interested in the false headline that Poland categorically refused to open its borders to the Baltic States.

The article appeared on the portal on June 3, following the meeting of Baltic and Polish foreign ministers in Tallinn last Tuesday. The article mentions that its content is based on an article published on the ERR.ee portal.

However, neither the article on bukimevieningi.lt itself, nor the message posted by ERR.ee, mentions Poland’s categorical refusal to open its borders to people from the Baltic states. Although the Polish Foreign Minister, Jacek Chaputovich, emphasized the different situations of the countries facing the new coronavirus during the meeting, he told ERR.ee that “Poland [Baltijos šalių sienų atvėrimas viena kitai] It seems inspiring, but the scale of our problem lies with others. ” (The latest data shows 1,733 cases in Lithuania and 27,560 in Poland).

Furthermore, although Poland did not agree to open the borders during the meeting, the Polish representative emphasized that the question of whether tourists can already visit Poland could be resumed in a few weeks. “I hope it will be possible to remove restrictions on tourists in the coming weeks,” he said.

Later, after the article appeared on the portal bukimevieningi.lt, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis announced that after a conversation with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieckis, a more precise date had been decided when Poland would open its borders to the States. Baltic. According to the latest data, it is planned to open the border this Friday, June 12. On Friday, S. Skvernel intends to meet with the Prime Minister of Poland at the state border.

The information that Poland, however, will open its borders to residents of the Baltic States, appeared only after the publication of the message bukimevieningi.lt, therefore, its author was not able to know this information at the time. However, although the content of the article is correct given the date of its publication, the title that Poland has categorically refused to open its borders to the Baltic States misleads readers. Poland has never refused to open its borders, only deciding to open its borders a little later, given the different numbers of COVID-19 cases in the countries.

• Sources
• Lithuania and Poland will open their borders on Friday, promises Prime Minister S. Skvernelis; vz.lt
• Information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.
• Польша пока не будет открывать границу для туристов из стран Балтии; rus.err.ee