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BRUSSELS (AP) Fears that the authoritarian leader of Belarus is using migrants and refugees as a hybrid warfare tactic to undermine the security of the European Union are putting new strains on some of the values and laws in the 27-nation bloc.

The crisis at the eastern frontiers of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia is fueling calls for the EU to finance the construction of something it never wanted to build: fences and walls at the border.

And this idea was voiced this week at a ceremony commemorating the fall of one of Europes most notorious and historic barriers, the Berlin Wall.

The border crisis with Belarus has been simmering for months. Top EU officials say the longtime authoritarian leader of Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko, is luring thousands of migrants and refugees to Minsk with the promise of help to get to western Europe.

Belarus denies it is using them as pawns, but the EU maintains Lukashenko is retaliating for sanctions it imposed on his regime after the presidents disputed election to a sixth term last year led to antigovernment protests and a crackdown on internal dissent.

The crisis came to a head after large groups of asylum-seekers recently gathered at a border crossing with Belarus near the village of Kuznica, Poland. Warsaw bolstered security there, sending in riot police to turn back those who tried to cut through a razor-wire fence.

Polish lawmakers introduced a state of emergency and changed the countrys asylum laws. Only troops have access to the area, to the dismay of refugee agencies and Polands EU partners. Lithuania is taking similar measures and has begun extending its border fence.

The EUs executive branch, the European Commission, believes walls and barriers are ineffective, and has so far resisted calls to fund them, although it will pay for infrastructure like surveillance cameras and equipment.

In the heightened security climate, that attitude may be changing.

We are facing a brutal, hybrid attack on our EU borders. Belarus is weaponizing migrants distress in a cynical and shocking way, European Council President Charles Michel said at an event in Germany on Tuesday, the 32nd anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

We have opened the debate on the EU financing of physical border infrastructure. This must be settled rapidly because Polish and Baltic borders are EU borders. One for all and all for one, Michel said.

That approach, and other border tactics, are sowing dismay. Addressing EU lawmakers Wednesday, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called for European leadership and appealed to the bloc to avoid a race to the bottom on migration policy.

These challenges simply do not justify the knee-jerk reaction we have seen in some places: the irresponsible xenophobic discourse; the walls and barbed wire; the violent pushbacks that include the beating of refugees and migrants, sometimes stripping them naked and dumping them in rivers, or leaving them to drown in seas; the attempts to evade asylum obligations by paying other states to take on ones own responsibilities, Grandi said.

The European Union, a union based on rule of law, should and can do better, he said.

About 8,000 migrants have entered from Belarus this year, and border guards have prevented about 28,000 attempted crossings, according to European Commission figures.

Monique Pariat, a senior commission home affairs official, said most are Iraqis or Syrians, flying to Minsk from Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. They pay a lot of money to a state-owned tourist company, which goes into Lukashenkos pockets, she said.

Its the last thing Europeans want to see. The entry in 2015 of well over 1 million people, most fleeing conflict in the Middle East, sparked the EUs most intractable political crisis. They are unable to agree on who should take responsibility for refugees and migrants and whether other EU countries should be obliged to help.

Greece and Italy were on the front line six years ago. Spain has received thousands of asylum-seekers in recent years. Now, its the turn of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Many in the West believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin supports Lukashenko in targeting Europe.

They know very well that this is a subject that divides European Union member states. We must be very aware that it would be playing their game to bicker among ourselves, Isabel Wiseler-Lima, a conservative EU lawmaker from Luxembourg, said.

At a summit late last month, leaders of the bloc ordered the commission to propose any necessary changes to the EUs legal framework and concrete measures underpinned by adequate financial support to ensure an immediate and appropriate response.

A few weeks earlier, 12 member countries - Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia - had demanded that the European Commission bolster the rules governing Europes passport-free travel zone, known as the Schengen area.

They want stronger border protection and new tools to avoid the grave consequences of overburdened migration and asylum systems and exhausted accommodation capacities that might hurt public trust in the EUs ability to act decisively.

The question is whether these tools would constitute pushbacks - the denial of entry to people, often by force, without affording them any opportunity to apply for asylum which are illegal under international refugee treaties and EU law.

EU officials and U.N. agencies already worry that Poland is denying access to its border area near Belarus, where thousands have been refused entry in circumstances that cannot be independently verified. Eight people have died in the border no mans land.

The commission is also examining recent changes to Polish law on the right to asylum, which seems in this case not to be assured, spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said.

As tensions mount, security is tightening and old methods are again gaining favor.

Europe must protect its external borders, and time has proven that the only effective solution is physical barriers to secure European citizens against the mass arrival of illegal migrants, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote in a letter to the commission last week, seeking reimbursement for funds his government spent on its own border fences.

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EU values, laws under threat amid standoff at Belarus border - Associated Press

One year ago, on 8 November 2020, the people of Myanmar cast their ballots in large numbers in the countrys general elections. Their choice was clear and their aspirations for democracy explicit. The elections were an important milestone in Myanmars democratic transition and were confirmed as transparent by all independent domestic and international observers. The military coup on 1 February 2021 forcibly overthrew the civilian government in blatant violation of the will of the people, with disastrous humanitarian, social, economic and human rights consequences. The announcement to extend the state of emergency until August 2023 under the guise of a caretaker government can in no way grant legitimacy to the military regime. The European Union strongly condemns the grave human rights violations by the Myanmar armed forces since then.

The current military build-up in the central and northwestern part of the country, including the Sagaing and Magway regions, and the resulting escalation of violence particularly in Chin State, are of deep concern. The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the attacks by the Myanmar military on civilians and villages in Chin State, including the use of torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and the destruction of private property and religious sites, which are blatant violations of human rights and international law and call for justice and accountability. The European Union reiterates its calls for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and the disproportionate use of force witnessed in recent days. The military authorities must ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all displaced persons and people in need, in all parts of the country. The European Union will continue to provide humanitarian assistance, in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence and is deeply concerned by the combined effects of the conflict, food insecurity and COVID-19 on the population.

The escalation of violence led by the Myanmar armed forces also runs counter to the commitments made at the ASEAN Leaders Summit in April, setting out the Five Point Consensus. The European Union continues to call for its immediate and full implementation. The European Union further calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained in connection with the coup, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The European Union welcomes the appointment of Noeleen Heyzer as the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations on Myanmar and welcomes continued close collaboration with the United Nations. The European Union also reiterates its full support for the approach and efforts of ASEAN and the ASEAN Chairs Special Envoy, Erywan Yusof, Foreign Minister II of Brunei Darussalam, to engage in a meaningful and inclusive process of dialogue involving all relevant parties in the country, including the National Unity Government and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. The European Union underlines that a meaningful political dialogue must include full, equal and meaningful participation of women, youth and ethnic groups.

The European Union welcomes the actions taken by ASEAN in view of its recent summit. The European Union looks forward to engaging closely with Cambodia as the Chair of ASEAN for 2022 and as the chair of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on 24-26 November 2021. The European Union will continue to support ASEANs efforts to ensure a peaceful resolution of the current crisis that will ensure the countrys swift return to a democratic path.

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Myanmar/Burma: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union - EU News

Elections held in Nicaragua on 7 November have taken place without democratic guarantees and their results lack legitimacy. Daniel Ortega has eliminated all credible electoral competition, depriving the Nicaraguan people of their right to freely elect their representatives. The integrity of the electoral process was crushed by the systematic incarceration, harassment and intimidation of presidential pre-candidates, opposition leaders, student and rural leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and business representatives.

Not only has the Nicaraguan Government deprived the people of Nicaragua of the civil and political right to vote in a credible, inclusive, fair and transparent election, it has also fallen short of its own commitments on human rights and fundamental freedoms under Nicaraguas Constitution, the Inter-American Democratic Charter and international covenants to which the country is a party. Moreover, the Nicaraguan people have been deprived of their freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Dissenting voices are silenced, scores of civil-society organisations have been outlawed, and state repression is unrelenting.

Following the social protests that broke out in the spring of 2018, the Nicaraguan Government unleashed violence against its own people, leaving death, forced disappearance, incarceration, mistreatment and mass exile in its wake and turning the country into a republic of fear. The elections of 7 November complete the conversion of Nicaragua into an autocratic regime.

The European Union has consistently called for respect for human rights, democracy and rule of law, and it will continue to do so. The European Union also reaffirms its commitment to continue supporting the economic and social development of the most vulnerable sectors of Nicaraguan society.

Nicaraguan authorities must put an end to repression and restore the full respect for human rights, including for civil and political rights. International human rights bodies such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) must be authorised to return to Nicaragua. Above all, the European Union calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, and for the annulment of legal proceedings against them.

The European Union has carefully avoided any measures that could potentially add to the hardship of the Nicaraguan people and has consistently targeted only those responsible for the anti-democratic developments in Nicaragua. In that spirit, we will consider all instruments at our disposal to take additional measures, including those that may go beyond individual restrictions.

Finally, we call upon Daniel Ortega to return the sovereignty of Nicaragua to the Nicaraguan people, who are its rightful owners.

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Nicaragua: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union - EU News

What are the main routes used by migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia attempting to reach the European Union? Here's a quick look at the four main routes.

What are the most frequented routes used by migrants and refugees hoping to reach the European Union? Here's an overview, based on data from Frontex, the border agency of the European Union (EU).

Migrants attempting to reach the European Union from Libya and Tunisia travel across the Central Mediterranean, hoping to reach primarily Italy but also Malta.

Between January and October 2021, almost 55,000 migrants arrived irregularly via the Central Mediterranean. The largest group -- over 15,000 -- were Tunisian nationals, followed by Bangladeshi and Egyptian citizens.

Hundreds of thousands of people have used the Central Mediterranean Route in recent years, but the number of crossings has fallen significantly since 2016, when a record number of people -- more than 180,000 -- irregularly crossed the sea border to Italy and Malta.

Libya in particular has become a transit country for migrants from many African and even some Asian countries. The political instability of the country has given room to vast human trafficking networks; many migrants are blackmailed and suffer abuse in Libya. Inspite of this, the European Union and Italy are supporting Libyan coast guards, who regularly intercept and return migrant boats in the Mediterranean.

The Eastern Mediterranean Route leads from Turkey to Greece.

This route saw the largest number of arrivals in 2015, when 885,000 people -- most of them Syrian refugees escaping their countries civil war -- used it to reach in the European Union, according to Frontex. Today, it is much less frequented.

Since the beginning of 2021, just over 15,000 have arrived using this route, most of whom are Syrian nationals.

The drastic decrease in arrivals along this route is likely in part due to the controversial EU-Turkey deal, an agreement between the EU and Turkey that was heavily criticized by NGOs and that essentially blocked off the Aegean coast. But Greece has also been accused of pushing back migrants and refugees in the Aegean -- the sea between Greece and Turkey.

Spain is among the European countries that have seen the largest number of migrant and refugee arrivals. There are two sea crossings migrants can attempt to reach Spain: The Western Mediterranean -- mostly from eastern Morocco to the Spanish mainland -- and the Atlantic -- from western Morocco/Western Sahara and other northwestern African countries to the Canaries, a Spanish island group located off the coast of northwestern Africa. A smaller number of people have also attempted to reach Spain via the land or sea route to Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves located in Morocco.

Frontex counted roughly 33,000 border crossings on these routes so far in 2021 -- nearly 16,400 in the Western Mediterranean (mostly Algerians and Moroccans), more than 16,700 on the Atlantic (mostly people from Sub-Saharan countries and Morrocans).

This route has drawn a great deal of attention in recent days, as thousands of migrants and refugees have been stuck at the border between Belarus and eastern EU member countries -- primarily Poland -- amid growing tension between the EU and Belarus' autocratic president Alexander Lukashenko.

From January until October, Frontex reportedly registered nearly 6,600 attempts to irregularly cross the EU border from its Eastern European neighbors, primarily Belarus. More than half the registered migrants and refugees were Iraqis, followed by Afghans, Syrians and Congolese.

[Not mentioned in this article are routes that migrants use after they first arrive in the European Union -- the Balkan Route in particular is not listed because most migrants and refugees using this route have travelled through Greece or Bulgaria. Nearly 50,000 irregular border crossings were detected in Balkan EU countries between January and October 2021 -- most of them Syrian nationals.]

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The main migration routes to the European Union - InfoMigrants

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. An annual campus event focused on the European Union will feature a former Canadian political leader turned academic speaking about threats to intellectual freedom in Europe.

History professor Michael Ignatieff, a rector emeritus of Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, and the author of On Consolation: Finding Solace in Hard Times, will deliver the keynote address at this years European Union Day at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

History professor Michael Ignatieff, a rector emeritus of Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.

Photo courtesy the European Union Center

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The 20th annual EU Day keynote, titled Academic Freedom in Europe: Threats Within and Without, will be presented via Zoom on Thursday, Nov. 18 at noon.

EU Day is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register here: https://go.illinois.edu/EUDayKeynote.

Ignatieffs talk will explore how university autonomy and freedom of thought are under attack in Eastern Europe, and how authoritarian resurgence has affected universities in Western Europe. Ignatieff also will discuss the lessons those trends portend for intellectual freedom in the U.S.

Ignatieff, whos had a long and varied career as a writer, historian, professor and politician, served as a member of the Canadian Parliament from 2006-11, and then as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of the Official Opposition.

Ignatieff was a faculty member at the Harvard Kelly School of Government, where he also directed the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. In 2016, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada.

EU Day is an annual event to provide an opportunity to learn about the EU, its relationship with the U.S. and its role in promoting international relations.

More information is available on the EU Day webpage.

EU Day is sponsored by the European Union Center at Illinois.

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Canadian historian, writer Michael Ignatieff to speak Nov. 18 as part of EU Day at Illinois | Illinois - University of Illinois News