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Sergei Rachkov. File phtoo

MINSK, 26 November (BelTA) - The EU needs to look for a solution to the situation on the border in cooperation with Belarus, Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic Sergei Rachkov told the media, BelTA has learned.

"A political solution is needed. In the telephone conversation with Germany's Acting Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Belarusian president proposed a certain algorithm of actions. A solution must be found in any case. And, as they say in diplomacy, the ball is in the court of the European Union. Our European partners should act, rather than talk about new sanctions against the Republic of Belarus that fully complies with international, humanitarian law, provides assistance to disadvantaged people who have been forced to seek shelter in another country," Sergei Rachkov said.

The senator noted that many of those, who are now stranded on the Belarusian-Polish border, have families in the EU. These people seek to reunite their families.

"The European Union needs to look for a solution in cooperation with the Belarusian head of state," Sergei Rachkov said.

Continued here:
Senator: EU needs to look for solution to migrant crisis in cooperation with Belarus - Belarus News (BelTA)

Katya Adler suggested clashes among European Union member states can be expected as the issue of migration and border protection across the Schengen Area is reignited. France has been clashing with the United Kingdom over the increasing number of crossings from Calais into the UK, which ended in tragedy for 27 people this week. And Poland has been clamouring for support from Brussels as Belarus puts pressure on its borders by refusing to control the influx of migrants seeking to cross into EU territory.

Speaking of Emmanuel Macron on Newscast, Ms Adler said: "He has asked help from the European Union because for him it is as much a European problem as it is an issue with the United Kingdom.

"And of course you know, we've seen what's known as irregular migration basically these awful dinghies in different parts of the edges the external borders of Europe."

The EU is not new to the pressure of mass immigration and some countries have been coping with large numbers of asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants since well before 2015.

But over the past few months, with growing economic troubles in areas of the Middle East, northern and central Africa as well the ongoing conflicts in Yemen and Syria have contributed to an increasing number of people seeking better life opportunities in Europe.

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The BBC's Europe Editor continued: "Remember the migrant crisis of 2015, well, that affected southern member states.

"We had Poland recently asking for help from the EU with its border with Belarus and here you have the problem in Calais.

"And something else that President Macron has said is, 'look these asylum seekers and others who are here in Calais and want to get the UK, they don't just magically appear here.'

"They have to make their way through other European Union countries in order to get here."

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Ms Adler added: "As familiar as the irregular migration is for Brussells, it's just as familiar the complete inability amongst the member states to agree on what to do about it."

"So for example you've got an incoming Government in Germany, they want to make legal migration a lot easier, to deter people from risking their lives in those cold windy waters right now.

"Whereas for countries like Hungary and others in central Europe and Eastern Europe they say, no way!"

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And attempts from the UK to reach an agreement with France on how to best tackle Channel crossings took a step back after Prime Minister Boris Johnson openly Tweeted his private letter to President Macron asking the French to take back migrants who have arrived in Britain.

Following the release of the letter, the French pulled out of their meeting with Home Secretary Priti Patel scheduled for this weekend. .

The meeting was expected to focus on the possibility of joint border patrols in France, combining the UK and French officers together to tackle smugglers assisting migrants with their dangerous crossing into the UK

The French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said Ms Patel "was no longer welcome".

Read this article:
BBC's Adler warns EU to spiral into new crisis over 'complete inability' to act together - Daily Express

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sylum seekers will have to obey strict rules in new centres or face their claims being rejected under new plans advocated by Priti Patel reports have suggested.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the Home Secretary had been impressed with centres being built in Greece where migrants were put under strict curfews and faced routine checks on their movements.

And the newspaper reported Ms Patel had praised the very different approach taken by Greece in the face of the migrant crisis, including the digitisation of the asylum process in order to speed it up and save on paperwork.

A UK government source was quoted by The Telegraph as saying that if migrants breached the rules, their asylum claim could be impacted.

But it comes as the Times reported Boris Johnson had drafted in Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay to oversee the rising number of migrants arriving on Britains shores.

The Times reported that the PM was exasperated with the issue following a number of strategies to stem the flow.

Some previously reported plans including the use giant wave machines to prevent migrant crossings, nets to snare boat propellers, and floating walls in the sea, were never considered, Dan OMahoney, the Home Offices Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, told the Home Affairs Select Committee earlier this week, adding on the wave machine idea: I think its a bizarre idea.

And he described a number of the ideas that made their way into the headlines as fanciful.

But the move to bring in Mr Barclay could be seen as an admission that the Home Secretary has not managed to tackle the issue.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer accused Ms Patel of failing to deliver on promises to stem the flow of illegal migrants crossing the Channel.

The Labour leader said Ms Patel has not secured strong enough agreements with the French government to prevent migrants making the dangerous sea journey.

He said the Home Secretary repeatedly used strong language to say how she would tackle the problem, but delivered absolutely nothing.

His attack came as Ms Patel blamed the EUs open borders established by the Schengen Agreement for failing to check the movement of people through the bloc.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Washington, she said she was constantly pressing the French on the issue, but that they were overwhelmed.

Lets not forget that the real problem on illegal migration flows is the EU has no border protections whatsoever Schengen open borders, she was quoted as saying.

More than 24,700 people have arrived in the UK so far this year after making the Channel crossing in small boats almost three times the number there were in 2020.

This includes at least 1,247 who arrived since Monday, according to data compiled by the PA news agency. This number is set to rise as the exact figure for Tuesday is still being finalised by the Home Office.

It is thought at least 10 migrants have died in the last few weeks while trying to make the dangerous crossing.

It comes as campaigners threatened the Home Secretary with legal action over so-called pushbacks after reports she had sanctioned the tactics to turn migrants around back towards France at sea.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is reported to have said the British oscillate between partnership and provocation when discussing the migrant crisis in an interview with Lille-based newspaper la Voix du Nord, adding: We need to further strengthen collaboration.

Officials have described how violence levelled at French police has intensified recently, highlighting incidents where an officer had their ear bitten off, and another where canisters of CS gas had to be used to disperse a group of migrants.

Downing Street said the Government was continuing to work extremely closely with the French authorities on the issue, but that the problem required a co-ordinated response from countries across Europe.

We are facing a global migration crisis choreographed by organised crime groups who put people on these boats to make these incredibly dangerous crossings, a No 10 spokesman said.

This is an urgent issue for the whole of Europe, requiring incredibly close working together with our neighbours France, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as our friends across the continent. It is a shared problem so we need shared solutions.

Sir Keir said the Government also had only itself to blame for the failings in Britains busted asylum system.

Ms Patel complained earlier this week that a dysfunctional system had allowed Liverpool bomber Emad Al Swealmeen to remain in the UK despite reportedly having had an asylum application rejected in 2015.

Sir Keir said: My jaw dropped when I heard the Home Secretary say that the problem is that the asylum system is busted.

This Government has been in power for 11 years. If the asylum system is busted it is busted under their watch.

Asylum applications used to be dealt with in about six months many years ago. It now takes years. All of us MPs have constituents who have been waiting two years or more for their case even to be looked at.

So if the asylum system is busted the question is who busted it and the answer is the Government.

Meanwhile, the Albanian ambassador to Britain flatly denied reports his country has been in discussions with the Government about hosting a processing centre for migrants who arrive in the UK.

Qirjako Qirko told LBC radio that there had been zero talks between the two countries on the issue.

Its absolutely fake news because as my prime minister stated yesterday the foreign minister also tweeted yesterday that doesnt exist, any negotiations between Albania and the UK regarding these processing centres, he said.

It will not be changed because my prime minister was crystal clear yesterday when he said that Albania will never be a processing centre for illegal immigrants.

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Fresh plan to tackle migrants crisis takes inspiration from Greece reports - Evening Standard

Philanthropist John Caudwell has told TalKRADIO host Jeremy Kyle that the migrant crisis is being used as a "political football." He blasted the European Union and argued that Brussels want Britain to have "a bloody nose." Mr Caudwell stressed that the EU want to cause problems for Britain "Because if we prosper too much the EU becomes in further potential to collapse."

Mr Caudwell told TalkRADIO: "The EU, in general, want Britain to have a bloody nose.

"Because if we prosper too much the EU becomes in further potential to collapse.

"They don't want us to prosper because it'll set the wrong signal to other countries that might be slightly EU sceptic.

"So it is a political football."

He added: "But I think there is a great point which is we do need to think on a humanitarian scale...on a global scale and together."

It comes after senior Tory MP Andrea Leadsom and Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu clashed angrily over migrants crossing the English Channel illegally in small boats.

Dr Shola joined the senior Conservative Party MP to discuss the ongoing migrant crossings with Iain Dale onLBC's Cross Question programme.

MsLeadsomfought back angrily at claims the Government was "gaslighting" the British public over the plight of migrants

The Tory MP added: "What this Government is trying to do is to prevent illegal movement to this country."

Dr Shola argued: "The Government is not doing that!

"The Government is dehumanising refugees, demonising, the language they use..."

She added: "Each time we talk about migrant crossing, it's always to paint them looking like people who actually you should have gone to a different country before you came to us."

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EU slammed for using migrants as 'political football' - 'Wants UK to have a bloody nose!' - Daily Express

Migrants queue to collect water during the distribution of humanitarian aid in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region, Belarus November 12, 2021.

Leonid Scheglov | BelTA | Handout | via Reuters

European foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss possible sanctions against Belarus as the humanitarian crisis at its border deepens.

Thousands of migrants, many from Syria, Yemen and Iraq, have been gathered at the border with EU member Poland in freezing temperatures for several weeks. Belarus has been accused of allowing the crisis to escalate in a bid to undermine EU security and in retaliation to the bloc's backing of the country's opposition, an allegation Minsk strenuously denies.

Belarus' foreign ministry on Monday dismissed suggestions that it had engineered the migrant crisis as "absurd," claiming that border controls had been strengthened and state-owned airline Belavia was not carrying illegal migrants, according to Russian news agency RIA.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Sunday called on NATO to take "concrete steps" to mitigate the crisis, after dozens of migrants broke through border defenses to enter Poland over the weekend.

Morawiecki indicated that Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, all of which share borders with Belarus, could seek consultations under article 4 of the NATO charter, a measure available when a NATO member believes its "territorial integrity, political independence or security" is under threat.

Last week, in light of speculation about a fresh round of EU sanctions against Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened to choke off a key gas supply from Russia to Europe.

EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell reportedly told journalists in Brussels on Monday that the bloc wants to extend sanctions to airlines, travel agents and other entities involved in transporting migrants into Belarus. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas reportedly said the "sanctions spiral" was far from its end.

Meanwhile, Lukashenko was quoted in a state media report Monday as saying that Belarus was trying and failing to convince migrants to go home.

Anna Rosenberg, head of Europe and U.K. at advisory firm Signum Global, told CNBC Monday that existing EU sanctions on Minsk were partially successful.

Sanctions began to be imposed in October 2020 following what the EU called the "fraudulent nature" of the August 2020 Belarusian election, and subsequent violent repression of protesters, opposition members and journalists.

"If you look at Lukashenko's actions right now, they are a cry for help, if you will. He is trying to get the EU to stop imposing sanctions he is really blackmailing them including the recent threat to cut off gas," Rosenberg said.

Signum expects that the next round of sanctions will primarily focus on Lukashenko and his inner circle, in the form of more travel bans and asset freezes. However, Rosenberg said rumored measures against the airlines accused of helping to facilitate mass migrant arrivals in Minsk were unlikely at this stage.

These airlines include Belarus's Belavia, Turkish Airlines and Russia's Aeroflot, and Rosenberg noted that sanctions against such entities are rather complex.

"What has happened instead is that the EU is on a charm offensive, if you will. They are traveling to different capitals, they are talking to those international airlines, and we have already heard about announcements that these airlines are reducing air traffic to Belarus," she added.

Though concerns have been raised that the presence of NATO troops could increase around the Polish, Latvian and Lithuanian borders in light of the weekend's breach, Rosenberg argued that the information coming from the Polish government had to be taken "with a pinch of salt."

"It is very likely that that flow of migrants is eventually going to dry out, because we are already hearing from airlines and local governments that they are taking steps to reduce the inflow of new migrants into Belarus," she said.

"EU forces are not allowed to investigate the situation over there and the Polish government is benefiting from a rallying cry against the migrant threat for domestic political purposes."

Although the humanitarian crisis was evident, she suggested that an escalation of military presence was not imminent.

Read more:
Belarus denies engineering migrant crisis as EU strikes a tough tone on sanctions - CNBC