Minister for European Affairs: The Fight against Migration as a Means of Pressure on the EU
Austrian Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler embarked on a multi-country trip to Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Romania. The central topic of discussion is the increasing migratory pressure on the EU’s external borders, especially from Afghanistan and Belarus. Minister Edtstadler emphasized the need for border security at the EU's external borders and for targeted sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko's regime.
Austrian Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler: "The EU must not allow itself to be blackmailed. We are increasingly observing how third countries are using illegal migration as a means of exerting pressure on the EU." / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Florian Schrötter
Austrian Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler recently began a multi-country trip to Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Romania. One of the key topics of the working visits is the increasing migratory pressure on the EU’s external borders, especially regarding Afghanistan and the border with Belarus.
Prior to the meetings, Edtstadler stated, “The EU must not allow itself to be blackmailed. We are increasingly observing how third countries are using illegal migration as a means of exerting pressure on the EU. This is why alliances with our EU partners are particularly important at the EU’s external borders.”
Following meetings in Riga and Vilnius with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, Lithuanian Vice-Minister for European Affairs Arnoldas Pranckevičius, and Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya, Edtstadler described the situation on the border with Belarus as “stable but tense.”
She also stated that the EU is working on new sanctions against Belarus. The Lukashenko Regime in Belarus has been accused of trafficking migrants into Lithuania as a means of pressuring the EU.
Minister Edtstadler made it clear that the new sanctions must not affect civil society. She said, “It is important that new sanctions hit Lukashenko and his allies precisely and not civil society.”
Edtstadler also argued that the crises in Afghanistan and Belarus highlight the necessity for a common EU migration policy. She said, “The focus must be on protecting the EU's external borders. Only if we have secure external borders can we keep the internal borders open.”
The EU’s external border protection will also be a central topic when Edtstadler meets with Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides and Migration State Secretary Costas Konstantinou in Cyprus and Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu and Secretary of State for Europe Iulia Raluca Matei in Romania.