Poland will begin construction of a wall along the border with Belarus, where many migrants are currently massed, in December, and will finish it in the first half of 2022, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
“The business that we must carry out is an absolutely strategic and priority investment for the security of the nation and its citizens,” said Minister of the Interior Mariusz Kaminski.
The ministry stressed that the corresponding contracts would be signed by December 15 and that the work would begin later that same month, the workers having to take turns 24 hours a day in three shifts.
The structure will cost around 353 million euros ($ 407 million) and is expected to span 180 kilometers, or about half the total length of the border between Poland and Belarus.
Parliament gave the green light to its construction last month.
Since the summer, thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross this border.
As a result, Poland dispatched thousands of troops to the border area where it declared a state of emergency, while hastily erecting a fence of sharp barbed wire.
Sanctions “in the coming days”
For its part, the European Union will adopt new sanctions “in the coming days” against people and organizations contributing to the influx of thousands of migrants to the Polish border, the EU’s foreign minister announced on Monday. , Josep Borrell.
“We have agreed on the adoption of a new set of sanctions […]. It will be finalized in the next few days, ”Borrell said after a meeting of the 27 foreign ministers in Brussels.
These sanctions will affect “a significant number” of people and entities, he said, without specifying their number or identity.
The EU accuses Minsk of having organized these migratory movements in revenge for the Western sanctions imposed on the regime of Alexander Lukashenko last year after the brutal repression of opponents. The latter denies the accusations.
“We will now be able to target those who exploit vulnerable migrants and facilitate the illegal border crossing to the EU,” said Josep Borrel, referring to a “hybrid aggression” on the part of Belarus.
Minsk is “actively” working to bring back to their countries migrants stuck at the EU-Belarus border, for his part assured Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power for 30 years and whose re-election in August 2020 was not recognized. by Europeans.
The European sanctions adopted following this election against officials of the Belarusian regime currently target 166 people, including Alexander Lukashenko. They consist of an asset freeze and a ban on entry into the EU.
The EU also ended economic sanctions at the end of June, which hit the key potash, petroleum and tobacco sectors. It also banned Belarusian companies from accessing its airspace and airports.