On Friday, a decision was made to extend border controls at the German and Lithuanian borders until October 4. The regulation issued has been submitted to the European Commission (KE) for notification – announced Minister of the Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwiński on Sunday.
The situation at the borders was the subject of a briefing with voivodes and heads of security services; during the meeting, Minister Kierwiński spoke about closing the eastern route to “illegal migration.”
“98 percent effectiveness of our barrier causes Belarusian and Russian services, as well as illegal migration, to shift to other sections,” he said.
“Today, the key issue – not only for us but also for our partners in the European Union – is to seal, if I may use that word, the route that has shifted to Lithuania and Latvia,” he added.
Hence, as he explained, the reintroduction of temporary controls at the German and Lithuanian borders, along with the decision to extend them for another two months. “On Friday, the appropriate regulation was issued and submitted for notification to the European Commission,” he stated.
As Kierwiński added, the controls are set to remain in place until October 4. “In September, we will make further decisions in this regard based on data from the Border Guard (SG), the military, and the police,” he said.
The head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration also noted that “all our partners” have been informed of the decisions. “There is full understanding from our European partners because (…) these decisions aim to seal the migration route, which has now re-emerged through Lithuania and Latvia,” he added.