Weaponisation of migration by Russia and implications for EU security and border policy
23.4.2025
Question for written answer E-001633/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Christine Anderson (ESN)
Multiple credible sources confirm that foreign state actors, among them the Russian Federation and Belarus, have deliberately weaponised illegal migration as part of their hybrid warfare strategy, targeting EU Member States such as Finland, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Norway. These operations reportedly involve the facilitation of third-country migrants through Russian territory using official visas, coercive tactics by Belarusian border authorities, and involvement by Russian intelligence and trafficking networks[1][2][3][4][5][6][7].
Given the evidence of this threat, can the Commission respond to the following:
- 1.Does the Commission recognise Russia’s (and Belarus’s) deliberate facilitation of irregular migration as a component of state-directed hybrid warfare? If so, what assessments or designations has it made in cooperation with relevant EU agencies (e.g. Frontex or the European External Action Service)?
- 2.What specific legal instruments or coordinated EU measures are currently in place or under consideration to address the use of migration as a geopolitical weapon, including in terms of border control, visa policy and sanctions?
- 3.How is the Commission supporting frontline Member States in returning migrants that have been taking part in hybrid attacks on EU external borders, and how many of them have been returned thus far?
Submitted: 23.4.2025
- [1] https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-shadow-war-against-west.
- [2] https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/russias-weaponization-migrants-hasnt-gone-away.
- [3] https://etias.com/articles/eu-border-measures-target-migrant-weaponization-by-russia,-belarus.
- [4] https://ukandeu.ac.uk/border-and-migration-politics-and-the-kremlins-hybrid-war/.
- [5] https://www.hoover.org/research/weaponization-migration-powerful-instrument-russias-hybrid-toolbox.
- [6] https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/nov/16/russias-weaponization-of-migrants-hasnt-gone-away/.
- [7] https://mwi.westpoint.edu/weaponized-migration-in-eastern-europes-frozen-north-do-not-overlook-russian-hybrid-warfare/.