Lithuania is drafting a package of migration legislation that would allow the authorities to close the border to asylum seekers, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovič says.
“A very large migration package is currently being prepared, which may include certain changes regarding, say, a potential border closure, similar to what Finland and Poland are applying today,” Kondratovič said in an LRT TV programme on Monday evening.
“We are now looking into and analysing the practices of these two countries – specifically, when incidents such as attacks on border guards recur, it may be possible, based on a government decision, to impose certain restrictions on accepting asylum applications,” he said.
Kondratovič argues that attacks by migrants on Polish border guards are prompting Lithuania to consider suspending the right to asylum.
“The measures that were appropriate a couple of years ago or last year may not be appropriate today, so we need to be able to react accordingly, adopt better practices and analyse situations in other countries,” the minister said.
“At the same time, we must prepare our legal framework. It’s very important that the legal framework is adequate so that we are ready for future threats,” he added.
Lithuanian border guards have stopped some 250 irregular migrants crossing from Belarus so far this year. Last year, a total of 1,002 attempts to cross the border irregularly were recorded.
An intensification of irregular migration from Belarus into Lithuania, Poland, and Lavia began in 2021. The EU has accused the Belarusian government of using migration to exert pressure.
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