EU condemns political use of migrants by Belarus regime

On 8 September, the Delegation of the European Union to Belarus delivered a demarche to the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Belarus on illegal border crossings from Belarus into the European Union.

The EU maintains that the observed 50-fold increase of irregular crossings from Belarus into the EU is not a reflection of the inability of the Belarus administration to comply with their obligations in combatting illegal migration and human trafficking: “There are no objective reasons for such a sharp increase in illegal crossings on the route in question,” says the statement issued by the Delegation of the European Union to Belarus.

“The EU condemns the instrumentalisation of migrants for political purposes and urges the authorities in Belarus to stop this practice. Irregular migration cannot be used as a bargaining chip,” the statement said.

The Delegation reminds that since the Council Conclusions of October 2020, the authorities in Belarus have been fully aware of the EU’s gradual approach to the use of sanctions and of what has to be done for the EU to lift its sanctions and normalise relations.

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