On Monday 4 September, the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) discussed the migration situation at the borders of Lithuania and Latvia and the way in which these two countries are protecting their borders with Belarus while applying international obligations on asylum.
In the presence of ministers Arnoldas Abramavičius (Deputy Minister of the Interior, Lithuania) and Igors Rajevs (Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of the Interior, Latvia), Monique Pariat, the Commission’s Director General for Home Affairs, reported an increase in flows from Belarus to these two countries, as well as to Poland, with an increase in irregular crossings “up by 62% compared to 2022”, i.e. more than 25,000 people, including 17,000 for attempted crossings at the border with Poland alone.
While Lithuania has seen “a significant increase since mid-August”, the situation remains stable for Latvia.
However, these figures remain far below what these three countries experienced in 2021, when Lithuania experienced irregular arrivals more than 50 times higher than in 2020.
For MEPs, particularly from the Greens/EFA and The Left, this meeting with the ministers was above all an opportunity to question them on the new laws implemented in these countries, conferring new powers on border guards to manage arrivals of irregular migrants.
In recent months, the Commission has asked Lithuania to amend an emergency law accused of encouraging so-called pushbacks. While the two ministers have assured us that they have balanced laws that allow them to control arrivals while not depriving asylum seekers of their rights, the Commission has indicated that it needs a “clearer” view of the situation on the ground. It reiterated that no law should have the effect of depriving migrants of their right to seek asylum.
In any case, the Director General said that she was impatiently awaiting the outcome of the negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the future “migrant screening” regulation, which will make it possible to create an independent evaluation system at the EU’s external borders.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was also concerned in June about Latvia’s new law authorising border guards to prevent entry into the country when an asylum seeker has entered illegally.
“Latvia respects all international standards and the principle of non-refoulement”, the minister defended himself, explaining to MPs that while the number of irregular crossings from Belarus has increased, with over 7,000 attempted crossings in 2023, the country has also granted more asylum to those who have requested it.
EPP member Jeroen Lenaers (Dutch), for his part, criticised his left-wing colleagues who denounce the Lithuanian and Latvian laws, but at the same time oppose the legislative solutions on the table to counter instrumentalisation. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)