On Wednesday 12 February, the European Parliament called for the creation of targeted support for EU regions bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Some MEPs, such as Andrzej Halicki (EPP, Polish), Sebastian Tynkkynen (ECR, Finnish) and Mika Aaltola (EPP, Finnish), have called for a support mechanism to be put in place to provide longer-term (and not just targeted) assistance to EU countries bordering areas close to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine (see other news).
Adam Szłapka, Poland’s Minister for the European Union, said that when it comes to the EU regions bordering Russia, “our first duty as a Union is to ensure that their borders are secure. In doing so, we collectively recognise that these are our external borders”.
Last October, in response to the increasing instrumentalisation of migration, the EU Heads of State or Government expressed their solidarity with the Member States facing these problems. The European Council recognised that exceptional situations require appropriate measures and declared its determination to ensure the control of external borders by all available means, including with the support of the European Union.
The Polish Presidency of the Council also welcomed the Commission’s communication on tackling hybrid threats, which states that Member States may “adopt exceptional, temporary and proportionate measures to combat the instrumentalisation of migration”, said the Polish minister.
“Cohesion policy has supported the regions on our eastern border, which are on the front line in the face of new geopolitical realities”, said Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission. He cited the CARE initiative (see other news) and acknowledged the major challenges that remain. “It is now time to move towards new concrete solutions”, promised the Cohesion Commissioner. He plans to continue his visits to the eastern border regions. In his view, the forthcoming “mid-term review” offers a valuable opportunity for Member States to “prioritise the social and economic impact of the conflict and to strengthen the security and prosperity of these regions”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)