The European Union needs “fences and walls” on the Poland-Belarus border to block an influx of migrants, a senior German politician has said.
The call to fortify the 260-mile frontier reflects a significant shift in tone from Germany, which took in more than 800,000 asylum seekers during the 2015 migration crisis but now worries that it could be overwhelmed by a second wave.
In recent weeks President Lukashenko of Belarus has retaliated against EU sanctions by allowing more than 10,000 migrants, mostly from Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran, to use his country as a stepping stone into Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. At least 6,100 have made their way into Germany, including 4,200 since the start of October.
About 4,100 have been recorded in Lithuania and