The tension on Poland's eastern border is not easing much. Most of the migrants who have piled up at the Belarusian border are persevering, thinking that they have a chance to enter the territory of the European Union, with the promise of which they were lured there. The situation can also be a wake-up call for Europe and the European institutions, that the strengthening of the border guard and its support is in the fundamental interest of the Union. If it shows itself to be weak, it will be exploited - Janne Matlary, a Norwegian foreign and security policy expert, professor at the University of Oslo, and former Norwegian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, spoke about this in the European Time program of Kossuth Radio.
According to the expert, there is no strategic thinking in the European Union. When Belarus can use migrants as a weapon against Poland and Lithuania, it also points to the importance of strategic thinking.
" Europe shows itself to be weak in protecting its borders, it does not even have borders, and it is uncertain what should be done. And this is a weak point that an opponent will pounce on, " said Janne Matlary.
Belarus believes that this situation will cause confusion, debate and disagreement. He is trying to use unfortunate people as weapons, and this illustrates why Europe needs defensible and sealed borders to avoid such a tragic use of people, he added.
According to the security policy expert, Europe will learn from this that it is necessary to have controlled borders, also in order to prevent such cases from happening again in the future.
Janne Matlary also said that in this case we no longer have to talk about a migration problem, but a serious security policy issue, now it is not possible to simply say that Poland should open its borders to everyone. This is not the case in a case where people were clearly incited to appear at the border.
This can now be a wake-up call for Europeans to realize that an issue that was purely humanitarian can turn into a purely security issue, which must then be handled accordingly, he pointed out.
The article was produced in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the most important radio network for news about the European Union. Source: hirado.hu
On the cover photo: Migrants trying to enter the European Union at the Polish border, at the Kuznica crossing, in the vicinity of Grodno, Belarus (Photo: MTI/AP/BelTA/Okszana Manczuk)
