EU nations urge stronger borders to ease migration pressure
Interior ministers from European Union nations experiencing pressure from unauthorized migration are asking for more action to strengthen and protect the bloc’s external borders
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Interior ministers from European Union nations experiencing pressure from unauthorized migration asked Friday for more action to strengthen and protect the bloc’s external borders.
Ministers from countries that included Greece Poland Italy Austria and France, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, participated in a border security security conference in Lithuania's capital along with European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
They said that reinforcing the EU's borders and cracking down on people smugglers would protect EU citizens and the lives of migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa who undertake hazardous journeys to reach Europe.
“We must protect our borders from aggression, and we need to protect our people,” Johansson told the conference participants.
Doing that, she said, requires stopping people fleeing poverty and conflicts in their home countries from starting out on migration routes.
“We can't wait until we have desperate migrants at our borders. We need to act sooner," Johansson said, stressing that preventative actions must respect the rights of individuals to seek asylum.
Poland's interior minister, Mariusz Kaminski, call for amendments to EU migration laws. Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania saw migrants trying to cross illegally into the EU from Belarus.
The EU has accused the authoritarian president of Belarus of encouraging the unusual activity in retaliation for sanctions the bloc imposed. At least 12 people died while seeking the chance to enter Europe.
___
Follow AP's migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration