Lithuania proposed the initiative that has been supported by 12 member states in a letter calling for the use of European funds for the construction of fences and other barriers on the EU external border to facilitate the fight against illegal migration.
In a letter dated 7 October (Thursday), the ministers asked the European Commission to tweak external border-entry rules to include walls and fences.
The letter was signed by the interior ministers of Lithuania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia.
“I think that such a decision is not in the offing because that will have to be a joint decision by all member states (of the EU). As far as Croatia is concerned, due to our specific neighbours where Croats live and in the spirit of good neighbourly relations which we are trying to achieve, we have said from the start that we do not advocate raising fences,” said Božinović.
The four-page letter reads that “physical barriers appear to be an effective border protection measure that serves the interest of the whole EU, not just member states of first arrival.” The letter was sent to EU commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas and EU home-affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson.
“This legitimate measure should be additionally and adequately funded from the EU budget as a matter of priority,” the 12 interior ministers said.
Several thousand migrants have crossed the border between Belarus and the EU in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. The EU has accused Belarus President Aleksandar Lukashenko of orchestrating this in retaliation against European sanctions.
Poland and Lithuania plan to erect a fence on their border with Belarus. Hungary has had a fence on the border with Serbia since the migrant crisis in 2015.
EU interior ministers on Friday discussed other issues regarding keeping migrants at borders and the Dublin regulation.
