Poland, Finland seek changes on European Union border policies to curb migration

• Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has announced plans to upgrade the border wall with Belarus to enhance security against unauthorized migration.
• Tusk voiced concerns about the inadequacy of the European Union’s asylum legislation in addressing current migration challenges.
• The Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, agreed with Tusk on the need for changes in EU asylum law and said there is a critical security situation in the region.

Poland’s prime minister said on Friday that his country will upgrade the wall on its border with Belarus to better insulate the frontier against unauthorized migration.

Donald Tusk also said that Poland and Finland both see the need for changes in the European Union’s asylum legislation, which he called “inadequate” in the face of the current migration challenges and threats posed by Russia’s and Belarus’s policies that are pushing unauthorized migration into the EU.

Tusk spoke alongside visiting Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo following their talks on regional security. Both nations share borders with Russia while Poland also borders Belarus and Ukraine, which is fighting a war against Russia’s aggression.

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“Finland and Poland are ready to cooperate toward a tough, pan-European policy toward illegal migration,” Tusk said. “We are also interested in a reform of the asylum law because the legal environment today in the European Union is inadequate to the threats posed by the policy of Russia and Belarus.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, right, shakes hands with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, during their meeting at the Polish Prime Minister’s office in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 16, 2024. Tusk said on Friday that his country will upgrade the wall on its border with Belarus to better insulate the frontier against unauthorized migration. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Tusk said both Poland and Finland countries want to cooperate with other nations in the region toward the strengthening of their borders and defenses, and also civilian defenses in response to Russia’s aggressive policies.

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Orpo called the current security situation “critical” and stressed the two countries will continue supporting Ukraine and will develop their own cooperation in the defense and armaments sector.