Poland, Lithuania and Latvia may temporarily restrict the rights of migrants entering the European Union via Belarus. That has the European Commission approved on Wednesday. The countries, which have been arguing with neighboring Belarus for weeks about the presence of migrants at the border, may use the ’emergency measure’ for six months. According to the commission, the measures will enable Member States to ‘establish rapid and orderly processes to manage the situation’.
The three EU countries can now more easily return asylum seekers and no longer have to assess cases individually, international news agencies report. According to the commission, the executive branch of the EU, migrants can now only apply for asylum at designated locations, such as border crossings. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia will also be given longer time to register asylum applications. That now has to be done in ten days, but will be extended to four weeks.
Asylum seekers can be held at the border in reception centers for up to 16 weeks and may lose the right to be sent to more permanent centers in the country. According to human rights organizations the measures violate EU rules and international humanitarian law, and the commission is not allowed to return people seeking asylum. Brussels’ support for Poland is striking, as the two parties have clashed several times over the past year, including over the Polish rule of law.
EU countries say the Belarusian government is bringing migrants into the EU out of dissatisfaction with sanctions imposed. There are still about ten thousand migrants at the border. Minsk denies the allegations.
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