Lithuanian FM: Belarus using refugees as ‘hybrid weapon against EU’
By DW
17 July 2021 |
6:48 pm
Gabrielius Landsbergis tells DW that Minsk is shuttling refugees from Iraq to Lithuania to exact revenge for sanctions. He warned that the EU could see "waves of refugees" if the practice is not stopped.
Related
16 Jun
"What a special moment," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said after signing the gas memorandum. Europe is looking for alternate sources of energy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
18 Jun
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, along with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, decried Russia's attacks during their joint trip to Ukraine.
20 Jun
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, over 7 million people have fled the country. Multiple reports have outlined the specific difficulties that African refugees faced as they attempted to cross the Polish border and enter the European Union. Georgina Robertson and Sophie Samaille take a look at a Facebook post falsely claiming that refugees from Africa were shot at by Polish police.
20 Jun
The executive body of the European Union has recommended that Ukraine be granted EU candidate status. Kyiv has sought candidate status since 2014.
21 Jun
The Cypriot government says the vast majority of migrants enter the island's breakaway north via Turkey and then seek asylum in the EU-backed south. Arrivals doubled to about 10,000 in the first five months of this year.
26 Jun
The European Commission has recommended candidate status for Ukraine. Just over three months after being invaded by Russia, Kyiv has cleared the first hurdle on the road to membership.
26 Jun
Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief has called for Russia to end its blockade of Ukrainian ports. His comments come ahead of a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers.
24 Jun
The NGO Doctors without Borders is calling for humanitarian corridors to be created for asylum seekers stuck in Libya, who often face torture and abuse in Libyan detention centres. Now safely in Niger, two former detainees spoke to our correspondents about their harrowing ordeal. They were able to leave Libya thanks to the Emergency Transfer Mechanism, a programme set up by the UNHCR to evacuate migrants to Niger. Nearly 4,000 people have been evacuated from Libya through this mechanism since 2018.
24 Jun
Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia have criticized the slow progress on their EU membership bids. With Ukraine on the fast track, Western Balkan leaders are meeting with their EU counterparts — but hold out little hope.
25 Jun
EU leaders are in Brussels to discuss the membership bids of Ukraine and Moldova. Meanwhile, the European Parliament has voted heavily in favor of the two countries' getting candidate status.
24 Jun
The European Union should change the way it does business with Africa to redress imbalances left over in part from the colonial era, EU lawmakers have said.
26 Jun
Since Russia invaded Ukraine four months ago, the cost of living crisis has become a global issue. Prices have gone up around the world. In Europe, the countries that use the euro saw an average of 8.1 percent inflation in May. Pressure on prices, combined with stuttering economic growth, has sparked fears of a recession. These concerns could still come into play regarding the EU's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this programme, we're joined by two MEPs to discuss how the EU should balance sanctions against Russia with the risk of recession.
Latest
3 hours ago
At least 26 people have died with several dozen injured amid separate forest fires raging across drought-hit northern Algeria. Most of the fatalities were near the border with Tunisia.
3 hours ago
Sources suggest Moscow fears a brain drain if too many Jewish citizens leave Russia for Israel. The Justice Ministry seeks the closure of the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency for Israel, and a court will now decide.
4 hours ago
Today, five years later, Patricia is not just the first and longest-standing cryptocurrency company, it has also ensured that hundreds of young people with a wide range of talents stay employed across five countries.
6 hours ago
On August 24, Angolan political parties are looking at the tightest race they have ever run in an election. DW explains who's running, what the issues are and why the contest is so intense this time.
6 hours ago
Coal is seeing a bit of a revival in Germany, with out-of-service power plants being placed back online as gas supplies from Russia fall. But bringing coal-fired plants back online is easier said than done.
7 hours ago
As German cities heat up, the federal government has announced plans to increase the number of public drinking fountains to help ease the impact of the changing climate. The plan also has other environmental benefits.