Situation beyond the eastern border

The Monday session of the Foreign Affairs Council focused on such topics as the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, EU’s involvement in the Western Balkans and Sahel regions, as well as work on the Strategic Compass for Common Security and Defence Policy (conducted at a joint session of foreign affairs and defence ministers).

The new regulations are to ensure the effectiveness of actions taken by the Border Guard service to protect the Polish border in the event of a threat to national security or public order. They also improve the safety of Border Guard officers and enable journalists to work in the border area on special terms.

The barrier on the Polish-Belarusian border will be built by large companies with comprehensive market experience; relevant contracts will be signed by 15 December of this year and will be fully open to the public; the part of the border where the barrier is to be built will be divided into four sections; work on the respective sections will run 24/7 on three shifts – these were the main decisions made during the first meeting of the Team for the preparation and implementation of state border protection installations.

‘Ensuring the security of the Polish border is the responsibility of the Border Guard that coordinates all operations. It is assisted by the soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces and police officers. The unit responsible for the northern part of the border between Poland and Belarus and the coordination of operations of the Polish Armed Forces is the command of the 16th Mechanised Division. The 16th Division is supported by soldiers of other divisions, i.e. the 12th and 11th Divisions. The southern section of the border is the responsibility of the 18th Mechanised Division. The soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces serving at the border do extremely hard work every day,’ said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence, during the meeting with the soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces protecting the Polish border.

The main topic of the talks was the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. The meeting is part of consultations conducted by Poland with Member States and European Union institutions in the context of the hybrid threat from Belarus. The situation on the Polish-Belarusian border continues to be complicated. In recent days, there has been an escalation of attempts to illegally cross the eastern border of our country, which is also the eastern frontier of the EU. The Prime Minister stressed that this crisis does not only concern Poland. It aims to exert pressure and destabilise the entire EU.

Due to the continuing threat to the security of citizens and public order, related to the current situation at the border between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Belarus, it was proposed that directors of educational units in borderland poviats may suspend all or specific classes in such units with the approval of the competent supervising body or body exercising educational supervision.