Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė has appealed to the country’s representatives in the European Parliament to support Lithuania’s position on the instrumentalisation of migration in EU law, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
The minister made the appeal after an EP committee decided to remove the provisions Lithuania wants to be added to the Schengen Borders Code.
“This is a political issue of particular importance not only for Lithuania but for all EU member states in the region. Our goal is to be resilient to future irregular migration crises,” the interior minister said.
“We have made great efforts to ensure that the relevant amendments appear in EU legislative proposals. At present, there is a risk that the phenomenon of instrumentalisation and measures needed to combat it will continue to remain non-addressed and non-enshrined in EU law,” she added.
In late 2021, the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council to amend the Schengen Borders Code. This legislative proposal also included proposals made by Lithuania and a group of EU member states supporting it.
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According to the ministry, the negotiating mandate approved by the EU Council is favourable to Lithuania as it defines the concept of instrumentalisation of migration, refers to all types of fixed and mobile border surveillance infrastructure, common minimum standards for border surveillance, and provides for the possibility for member states facing instrumentalisation of migration to take the relevant national measures.
However, in September, the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs voted in favour of a proposal to remove all provisions related to the instrumentalisation of migration from the proposal.
According to the Lithuanian interior minister, this will lead to difficult negotiations in the EU’s future legislative process where the Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission will work to find a compromise that meets everyone’s interests.
“Lithuania’s position on this issue remains consistent as EU law needs instruments to enable member states to defend themselves against hybrid attacks by the Russian and Belarusian regimes, including the organisation of irregular migration flows,” the statement reads.
Almost 4,200 migrants entered Lithuania from Belarus in 2021, but most of them have since left the country after the movement restrictions ended. More than 21,000 migrants have been turned away at the border since August 3, 2021, when Lithuanian border guards were given the right to push back irregular migrants.
Lithuanian officials blame Belarus for the migration crisis and claim that Belarusian officials are actively contributing to irregular migration to Lithuania and the European Union.
Human rights organisations have criticized the decision by Lithuania and neighbouring countries to turn migrants away at the border, but Lithuanian authorities argue that the practice is necessary to defend against what they say is the instrumentalisation of migrants.
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