The European Commission will invest more in surveillance at the bloc’s borders with Belarus and Russia. This comes as Russia has encouraged illegal immigrants to cross the border in a “hybrid war” tactic.
Poland and Finland will benefit from an additional 170 million euros ($178.57 million) "to upgrade electronic surveillance equipment, improve telecommunication networks, deploy mobile detection equipment and counter drone intrusions," the EU said in a statement (via Reuters):
Finland has accused Russia of encouraging migrants from countries such as Syria and Somalia to cross the border - an assertion Moscow denies.
Poland has raised concerns about Belarus reportedly offering migrants an unofficial route into Europe. Belarus rejects the accusations.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's new executive vice-president in charge of security, said the situation on Europe's borders was "very serious".
"Russia uses weaponisation of migration as a new tool in the hybrid war against the EU. We must not allow any hostile state to abuse European values, including the right to asylum," she said.
In July, Townhall reported how Finland passed a temporary bill to allow border agents to turn away asylum seekers at its border with Russia. The two countries share over 800 miles of border. This move reportedly occurred after Finland accused Russia of “weaponizing” migration by encouraging migrants from Syria, Somalia, and other countries to cross the border. This, officials in Finland said, was retaliation for Finland joining NATO.
Later on, Townhall reported how Norway may put a fence along part of all of the 123-mile border it shares with Russia. The countries share a border at the northern section of the country.
Then, Polish officials indicated that they would beef up their border controls against Russia. These efforts will be accelerated, which EuroNews reported in October.
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