Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, said he supports a call for 12 member states to fund a physical barrier with EU funds at the EU’s borders, Politico reports.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced last week at her post-summit press conference that EU funds will not be used to build “barbed wire and walls”. However, as Politico points out, not everyone agrees.
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Webber said he supported calls by 12 member states to fund a physical barrier with EU money. The portal states that this appeal comes in a situation where the countries of the eastern part of the European Union are facing an increase in the number of migrants entering the EU from Belarus.
“It is very difficult to understand the EPP in the European Parliament why the EU cannot finance a physical fence on the border with Belarus,” Weber told Politico. There is a hybrid war going on, we must not be naive. It is a matter of defense and making sure that we decide who is allowed into Europe and not dictator Lukashenka. – added.
Weber said that countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Poland deserve “our full support, including fundraising. To build physical boundaries“.
The EU Border Management Fund can be used legally to build a physical barrier and is already used for border management issues, including infrastructure and electronics.
In early October, a group of 12 EU countries called on Brussels to quickly develop concrete solutions and a robust response to tackle the exploitation of illegal immigration and other mixed threats. In this context, there has been a call for reform of the Schengen border law, which regulates the general rules of movement in the European Union. The letter was signed by Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia.
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