Speaking at the closed Połowce border crossing in Poland's eastern Podlaskie region, Siemoniak said that existing border protection measures, including a restricted-access buffer zone, would be extended.
He added that Poland has spent PLN 2.6 billion (EUR 610,000, USD 715,000) and deployed 11,000 border guards and soldiers to ensure the security of the EU’s eastern border.
"I want to show the German interior minister what we are doing here, because the fight against illegal migration has to happen at the EU’s external borders, right here," Siemoniak told a news conference.
He said Poland was doing everything it could to stop illegal crossings from Belarus, particularly by migrants trying to reach Germany and other western European countries.
According to Polish authorities, combined physical and electronic measures are now preventing between 97 and 98 percent of illegal crossing attempts.
Poland has completed construction of an electronic barrier along the full length of the Podlaskie section of the Belarus border, including its river stretches.
The region is already secured by a 5.5-meter steel fence stretching 186 kilometers, while the new sensor-based barrier extends 206 kilometers.
In neighboring Lubelskie province, an electronic barrier is now being installed along the Bug River, with final testing underway on a 172-kilometer section, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Siemoniak also reviewed the reintroduction of temporary border controls with Germany and Lithuania, which began July 7 and are scheduled to last until August 5.
He told reporters that the checks have been particularly effective at the Lithuanian border, where migrants using the so-called Baltic route, via Belarus, Latvia or Lithuania, had previously entered Poland in large numbers.
He said all temporary regulations related to border security would be extended for now. These include the buffer zone along the Belarus border and the suspension of the right to apply for asylum at the border.
The suspension of asylum applications has been in place since March. The buffer zone, introduced in June and recently expanded, now covers a 78-kilometer stretch where entry is prohibited within various widths of this restricted area.
Siemoniak described the visit by Germany’s interior minister as a sign that migration challenges require joint solutions.
He said he expects Berlin to support Poland’s efforts in European Union discussions, particularly in terms of funding for border protection.
Germany's Dobrindt voiced strong support for Poland’s border measures, including the temporary controls with Lithuania and Germany, the PAP news agency reported.
He said Germany backs Poland’s decisions to strengthen frontier security, including the introduction of checks on the so-called Baltic route used by migrants traveling from Belarus through the Baltic states into Poland.
“These controls are allowing us to intercept illegal migrants every day, as well as those facilitating human smuggling,” Dobrindt said.
He added that the goal is to eventually remove internal EU border checks, but only once the external borders are secure.
“We want firmness and consistency at the EU’s external borders, in order to protect Europe,” he said, praising Poland’s “tremendous achievements” in securing the eastern frontier.
He called for continued EU support for Poland, both financially and logistically, and urged fellow member states to recognize Poland’s contribution.
Dobrindt also said Germany must do its part to reduce the “pull effect” that draws irregular migrants to its territory, a move that would benefit neighboring countries as well.
Responding to media questions, both ministers addressed reports that Germany was forcibly transferring migrants back to Poland. Dobrindt dismissed the claims as false and harmful.
“There is a standard procedure in place between our border agencies,” he said. “It determines which country is responsible for each case. The suggestion that Germany is rounding up and dumping migrants back in Poland is simply untrue and malicious. It undermines our good bilateral relationship.”
He added that Poland remains one of Germany’s most important partners in the European Union, alongside France.
Siemoniak echoed the sentiment, describing the Polish-German frontier as a “border between allies.”
He presented figures showing a sharp decline in the number of people sent back from Germany to Poland with a so-called Belarusian trace—those who had previously crossed into the EU via Belarus. There were 12,000 such cases in 2023, 5,000 in 2024, and just 800 so far this year, according to officials.
Siemoniak said these figures reflect the impact of tighter border control measures.
He also criticized attempts to include Ukrainian citizens in the returnee statistics, saying that most of them simply lacked proper residence documents for entering Germany and should not be grouped with irregular migrants.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP