MEPs end visit to Latvia and Lithuania to assess situation at Belarus’ borders
A European Parliament delegation has completed a 3-day fact-finding mission to Latvia and Lithuania to look into the situation of asylum-seekers entering the EU via Belarus.
From Tuesday 1 to Thursday 3 March, seven MEPs from the Civil Liberties Committee visited reception and detention facilities, the border areas and met with high government officials, EU agencies and civil society representatives.
At the end of their visit, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Chair of the Civil Liberties Committee and head of the delegation, said: “The external borders of Latvia and Lithuania are EU external borders, so border protection and the challenges faced there are challenges for the whole Union. We acknowledge that both countries faced last year a very specific and new challenge, given the hostile behaviour of the Belarusian regime and the substantial increase in arrivals from Belarus. Nevertheless, based on our visits and the discussions we have had, we believe that greater effort is necessary to ensure full compliance with EU law, in particular as regards the Common European Asylum System and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, in actions taken at the external borders, and in terms of reception conditions and asylum procedures.
Specific concerns relate to the widespread use of detention and the lack of proper care for vulnerable persons. In light of the situation on the ground, EU Agencies, and the EU as a whole, need to increase and improve their support, to ensure the protection of basic rights, also when facing particular challenges at the external borders. We call on the Commission to enhance cooperation with the member states to improve the situation and accelerate the progress, but it must also look into any possible violations of EU acquis, and take the necessary measures should the national authorities not be complying with EU law.
We welcome the Latvian and Lithuanian readiness for the possible arrival of a significant amount of refugees from Ukraine. We express solidarity with both member states at this most difficult of moments geopolitically.”
The other members of the delegation were EP Vice-President Katarina BARLEY (S&D, DE), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Lena DÜPONT (EPP, DE), Isabel SANTOS (S&D, PT), Diana RIBA I GINER (Greens, ES), and Cornelia ERNST (The Left, DE).
In Latvia, they met with Minister of Interior Marija Golubeva, and officials of the State Border Guard Service. In Lithuania, representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) shared their insight with the MEPs. They also spoke with representatives of the Seimas Ombudsman office and the civil society, as well as with researchers and human rights activists.
Background
Following an increase in migrant and refugee flows into EU territory from Belarus in the course of 2021 and the subsequent humanitarian crisis, the European Commission tabled on 14 December 2021 a draft regulation to prevent instrumentalisation in the field of migration and asylum. These new rules have to be adopted through the ordinary legislative procedure, where the European parliament acts as co-legislator.
Previously, on 1 December 2021, the Commission presented a proposal for a Council decision -for which the Parliament has to be consulted- temporarily adapting the rules on asylum to make it easier for Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to deal with the sudden influx of asylum-seekers.
Contacts:
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Polona TEDESKO
Press Officer -
Dovaidas PABIRŽIS
Press Officer in Lithuania -
Jānis KRASTIŅŠ
Press Officer in Latvia