On Saturday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, along with Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Minister of Internal Affairs Tomasz Siemoniak, visited the headquarters at the Polish-Belarusian border.
After briefing the command staff of the Polish Army, Border Guard, and Police, The Prime Minister said that Poland is mobilizing Europe to treat the Polish eastern border as a common responsibility.
"Both the Eastern Shield, which refers to the military aspect of border protection, and the measures to prevent illegal crossings are shared responsibilities within Europe—specifically NATO, but primarily among European nations. This is connected to the funding of activities aimed at enhancing the increasingly advanced infrastructure that protects our borders," said the Prime Minister.
Donald Tusk also reported that he had received a report of further arrests of those involved in smuggling illegal immigrants, adding that these were international groups. He also emphasized that Polish services were effectively "catching criminals who cooperate with the other side in illegally smuggling immigrants across the Polish border."
Moreover, he noted that Poland has achieved 98 percent effectiveness of arrests.
According to data from the Podlaskie Border Guard, there have been over 2,000 attempts to illegally cross the border this year, including 1,300 in March.
SOURCE: IAR
(aj)