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“This is a provocation by the Lukashenko regime and we must show that there is no free access to the territory of the EU, Lithuania, the EU, the Schengen states must prevent illegal access to the Schengen area.” That is why we, the entire EU, support Lithuania so that we can defend our common external border with Belarus, ”Johansson said during a government press conference on Monday.
In a press conference after the meeting with Prime Minister Ingrid Šimonyte, the European Commissioner pointed out that Lithuania is not only facing a migration crisis, but that it is an action of the authoritarian regime in Belarus to provoke.
“We are facing an aggressive act by the Lukashenko regime that is specifically designed to provoke. It is not just a migration crisis, it is an act of aggression designed to provoke,” said the EC member.
Mr Johansson also stressed that the European Commission was ready to provide additional funding for border protection.
“We are ready to finance additional measures from the European Commission. In addition, I will send a delegation that will spend a few days here to discuss in detail what we have discussed, that is, the possibility of financing a good border protection system that includes monitoring, protection, prevention of illegal migrants, ”said Johansson.
According to her, such a delegation can arrive in Lithuania on Sunday.
Prime Minister I. Šimonytė said she did not want to “speculate in numbers” how much it could cost Lithuania to support migrants and, in her words, the government is determined to build the border with Belarus regardless of the contribution of the European Union.
“There are other solutions for the physical protection of the border, both the equipment that needs to be installed at the border and the physical barriers that the government has committed to building on the border, starting with the vulnerable sections. And here we are talking about large sums, if this project is implemented in its entirety, we are talking about sums exceeding one hundred million euros, but the Government will implement this project regardless of how we manage to discuss the possible contribution with the European Commission. of the EU institutions, because that is how we understand the protection of our borders and those of the EU ”, said the Prime Minister.
The European Commissioner, who arrived in Lithuania on a two-day visit to assess the situation of illegal immigrants, met with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonyte on Monday.
The EC member’s work program also includes meetings with representatives of the State Border Guard Service, Frontex officials and the European Asylum Support Agency (EASO) working in Lithuania.
This year, nearly 4,000 people crossed the border from Belarus into Lithuania. illegal migrants. That number is more than 40 times higher than it was in 2020.
Lithuania has declared an emergency situation due to the increase in illegal immigration. The country’s officials take the position that the increase in migratory flows is an organized action of the Minsk regime against Lithuania.
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