“It is unacceptable that Belarus is playing with human lives for political purposes,” said Alesh Hoi, the Slovenian interior minister in the EU presidency, in a statement issued by the European Council.
The decision, which will be implemented within two days, “reaffirms our common commitment to continuing to counter this ongoing hybrid attack,” the minister added.
The visa facilitation agreement provides for a reduction in bureaucratic requirements and visa fees, as well as arrangements for multiple-entry visas.
In the past months, attempts have been made to send thousands of illegal immigrants to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as part of a large-scale hybrid attack by the Lukashenko regime, most of whom have arrived in Belarus as tourists from Iraq.
The EU has accused the Minsk regime of seeking to avenge support for the Belarusian opposition and of sanctions against Belarus in response to last year’s violent crackdown on protests.
How to make a barbed wire fence on the border of Latvia and Belarus
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NATO on Monday condemned Belarus for its tactical use of migrants to put pressure on the EU, saying the alliance was worried about escalating its border with Poland.
Hundreds of migrants from Belarus were reportedly tried to break into Polish territory on Monday.
Although the flow of illegal immigrants across the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, organized by Minsk, has been going on since the summer, this was the first time that such a massive attempt had been made to cross the Polish border illegally.
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