Situation beyond the eastern border

- ‘Today, the Border Guard signed three major agreements that are milestones in the process of barrier construction on the Poland-Belarus border,’ Deputy Minister Maciej Wąsik said at a press conference on Tuesday (4 January). The barrier will be over 186 km long.

The situation along the Polish-Belarusian border remains tense. The first days of the new year have shown that the Lukashenko regime continues its aggressive hybrid operation against Poland and the EU. Further attempts to cross the border illegally are reported every day. During these attempts Polish officers and soldiers are attacked by aggressive groups of migrants, supported by the Belarusian services.

This year, Christmas Eve is very special for the people who are serving on our eastern border - dedicated to protecting their country and far away from their loved ones. During a meeting with soldiers and officers, the Head of the Polish government wished them a peaceful and quiet Christmas Eve thanked them for their commitment to defending the security, not only of the territory of the Republic of Poland but of the entire European Union.

In addition to activities aimed to destabilize the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border, a systematic information warfare is being waged against Poland. It is an attempt to portray Poland as being responsible for the crisis and eager to escalate it. The objectives of these efforts go far beyond migration. Russian and Belarusian top officials as well as propagandists notorious for smearing Poland are actively involved in this hostile campagn.

On 16 December, the head of the Polish government took part in a meeting of the European Council (EC) in Brussels. Its agenda focused on problems related to the migration crisis and the defence of the European Union's eastern border. It also addressed issues concerning the ETS system and high prices of energy and gas.

The sanctions were introduced in response to A. Lukashenko’s regime’s repressions against civil society, undermining of the principles of democracy, and hybrid attack against the EU with the use of illegal migration through Belarus.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited Budapest, where he met with the prime ministers of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic as part of the next summit of the Visegrad Group countries. However, this time among the meeting participants was also President of France Emmanuel Macron. Aimed at discussing the current geopolitical developments in Europe, the Budapest meeting allowed the parties present to closely examine the current threats related to illegal migration and the crisis caused by the surging energy prices. During its course, President Emmanuel Macron presented the priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which are to take into account such problems as migration and asylum policy.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. After Paris and Brussels, Warsaw was the third European capital visited by the newly appointed head of the German government. At the first official meeting with Mr Scholz, Prime Minister Morawiecki emphasized that the appointment of a new government across Poland’s western border also marks a new chapter in Polish-German relations. The talks focused primarily on common challenges – including the situation on the eastern border of the European Union and in Ukraine, as well as EU affairs, energy issues and further Polish-German cooperation.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is continuing his meetings with European leaders with whom he discusses the situation at the eastern border of the European Union. Rome was the next stop on Prime Minister’s itinerary, where he met with Prime Minister Mario Draghi. In their talks, the politicians focused on the threats looming from the east, matters related to migration and the energy system as well as the situation in Ukraine.

The new chief of German diplomacy arrived in Warsaw on a one-day visit. Minister Rau congratulated his German counterpart on assuming the office of foreign minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, and expressed his appreciation for it having been her third, following Paris and Brussels, foreign visit since taking on this post.