An important step towards building a common-sense approach to the protection of the European Union’s external borders and the related issue of migration was Friday’s conference on border management in Vilnius.

It was attended by as many as 16 EU ministers responsible for migration, as well as representatives of EU agencies such as Frontex and the commissioners and European directors who share responsibility for these areas.

It is worth noting that one of the main initiators and organisers of the meeting - besides Lithuania, Greece and Austria - was Poland, which was represented in Vilnius by the Minister of the Interior and Administration, Mariusz Kamiński. From the Polish point of view, it was undoubtedly a success, both in terms of the scale and rank of the event, as well as its content. There is a clear new common ground, at least for the nation states. The EU institutions, the European Parliament and the Commission, which are strongly ideological, are an entirely different matter. However, prime ministers, presidents and national parliaments are under strong pressure from citizens who do not want uncontrolled and mass migration.

The final communiqué adopted by 16 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) underlines that:

„The security and integrity of the Schengen area cannot be compromised. The area inside can only function effectively if the external borders are properly protected”.

Just how far will the modifications go? Will they include financial support for the construction of barriers on the Polish-Belarusian and Lithuanian-Belarusian borders? Will countries affected by hybrid warfare be able to defend themselves in peace and with determination? Will the easily exploited asylum procedures be changed? I talked about this topic in Vilnius with Minister Mariusz Kaminski.

wPolityce.pl: It was surprising in the discussion in Vilnius that the fact that Poland successfully defended itself in the face of a very strong and ruthless attack of a hybrid war, with the cynical use of migrants by Lukashenko, penetrated the consciousness of European politicians. And even as you entered the final conference, you were congratulated. What was the situation in the backstage?

Mariusz Kaminski: We have shown that it is not true that a blow of this kind cannot be met with a firm response. I have heard praise from many EU Home Affairs Ministers. They deal with this subject on a daily basis and they understand the scale of the challenge we have faced; they know how to evaluate the means we have effectively deployed to defend ourselves and they know that we have shown determination; that we have not succumbed to external or internal pressures. We have their full support.

This has been said several times by the Greek Minister for Migration, Panagiotis Mitarachi: it is not a human right to cross a border illegally. There is no such right in any international document.

The participants in the conference include experienced politicians, professionals and experts, who know that this is a common problem. If the borders of Poland and the Baltic States were to be breached, the first victims of chaos and lawlessness would be our countries, but soon afterwards the whole of Europe would be affected. After all, these people would immediately appear in many countries of the Union. Their numbers would be impossible to estimate if the borders were opened, but they would be huge. Most of them declared their interest in France, Germany and Italy.

So the European Union would not be able to help finance a barrier to protect its borders? Ylva Johansson, the European Commission’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, who was present in Vilnius, was being rather vague on this matter. She said there was no money, and if there was money, it would only be spent on equipment, training and coordination.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had already expressed her opposition, because, as she said, the European Union should not be financing barricades and fences. I am not convinced by Mrs Johannson’s words, as we need to continue discussions on this matter. There is no room here for an infantile approach, as these matters are fundamental to national security, to the European Union and to the entire security system. Only barriers of this kind are capable of being effective, and this is why the Lithuanians and the Greeks have already started building their barrier.

It has been argued in many statements that without external border protection, the Schengen area will collapse. What is your view on this?

If Schengen remains leaky on the outside, sooner or later one of the states will not be able to cope and the whole system will cease to function. The internal borders are open, but this requires the external borders to be leak-proof. A breach in one place puts every country at risk. Therefore, this is a problem not only for Border States, but for everyone.

At the press conference, you said unequivocally: people who throw stones, bricks and firecrackers at Polish border guards and soldiers, those who attack them with batons, who try violently to break through Polish borders, should not then have the right to apply for asylum. What do these words reflect?

They are based on reason and on the requirement for consistency in action. There can be no reward for such acts of aggression. But I have also repeatedly emphasised here: migrants, people who want to improve their economic situation, are one thing, and refugees are another. Poland will never refuse to help refugees, as we have shown by taking in - we estimate - 15 000 people fleeing repression. We also brought about 1 000 people out of Afghanistan, threatened in the Taliban state for cooperating with Western countries. However, that is different from the brutal, cynical attack organised by Lukashenko. Anyway, it was done in revenge for our aid to the Belarusian people.

There is still unrest on the border, the number of people thrown across the border by the Lukashenko regime has decreased, but the nature of the attacks is intensifying. So how long will the extra forces have to be there?

Until the barrier is in place. The good news is that we have already signed all the contracts with reliable companies; we have the concept for building the barrier. The contracts with the contractors provide that it will be built within five months. So I assume that in June it should already be functioning, of course, with the necessary accompanying technology.

Today you have visited the Lithuanian-Belarusian border and the journalists could see it as well. The question arises: why was the main attack targeted at Poland?

Indeed, the Lithuanians were attacked very strongly in July, and then the attack passed to Poland. I believe that this was a conscious move. Someone made a decision that the Polish state was to be violated. But we managed, the Polish state passed this difficult test, we defended ourselves, and Lukashenko did not achieve any of his goals; he bounced back from our borders. Our officers, standing at their posts in the cold, at night, despite the fatigue which grew over weeks, can be proud of themselves, and I am proud of them too. But I must emphasise: this is not the end; there could be another massive attack in spring. That is why we are now making every effort to strengthen the forces that are ready for action, to build a barrier.

Tłum. K.J.