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Opposition vows to strengthen Poland's border with Belarus after taking power

30.11.2023 12:00
A new Polish government formed by an alliance of opposition parties will reinforce the country's border with Belarus to block illegal migration, a senior lawmaker has said. 
Polands steel wall on the border with Belarus.
Poland's steel wall on the border with Belarus.X/Polish Border Guard

Marcin Kierwiński, an MP with the liberal Civic Platform (PO) party, made the declaration in a media interview on Thursday. 

He told private broadcaster Polsat News that Poland needed an "effective barrier" at the Belarusian border to prevent an influx of illegal migrants.

Kierwiński added that the existing border wall needed "new IT devices" and that the Border Guard agency "must be strengthened."

The lawmaker also said that the new opposition government, led by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, would "take all steps to make the border secure," while at the same time maintaining a "humanitarian approach" towards migrants.

Poland's Border Guard agency said on Thursday there had been no illegal attempts to cross from Belarus in the previous 24 hours.

So far in 2023, there have been 25,500 attempted illegal crossings from Belarus, including 2,000 in October and 1,300 in November, according to officials.

The Border Guard has detained illegal migrants from 52 countries for trying to enter Poland from Belarus this year, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

In a bid to block illegal migration from Belarus, Poland last year built a 186-kilometre-long, 5.5-metre-high steel wall along the shared border, as well as a system of surveillance cameras and motion sensors.

In 2024, Polish authorities will launch the installation of similar electronic equipment on the banks of the border rivers Bug, Świsłocz and Istoczanka, according to the Border Guard. 

The system of cameras and motion detectors is expected to be co-funded by the European Union.

Polish MPs are likely to elect Tusk as the country's new prime minister on December 11, to head a Cabinet made up of four pro-EU opposition groups, the parliamentary Speaker in Warsaw said on Wednesday.

Kierwiński, a politician close to Tusk, is tipped to be the next interior minister. 

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, Polsat NewsPolish Border Guard