English Section

Poland 'making every effort' to protect EU border: president

09.09.2021 23:45
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday said his country was making every effort to safeguard the eastern frontier of the European Union amid a migrant surge orchestrated by Belarus.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and his Hungarian counterpart Jnos der speak at a joint news conference in Budapest on Thursday.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and his Hungarian counterpart János Áder speak at a joint news conference in Budapest on Thursday.Photo: PAP/Albert Zawada

Speaking in Budapest after meeting his Hungarian counterpart János Áder, Duda said Poland was "extremely serious" about its "duty to protect the border of the EU and the Schengen zone."

The two leaders had discussed security issues in the region, especially the Belarus border crisis, Poland's PAP news agency reported.

Duda thanked Áder for "Budapest's willingness to share its experiences from a few years back, when the Hungarian frontier was under great pressure from migrants."

At the time, Hungary's border service "dealt with the problem, and our officials also helped out," the Polish president said.

He told reporters he had briefed Áder on the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border.

"We are making every effort to protect the EU's frontiers, by every legal and possible means," Duda stated.

Poland last week declaredstate of emergency in parts of two regions bordering Belarus, and soldiers were helping patrol the frontier.

"This task is being carried out in the best possible way," Duda told the news conference in Budapest.

His Hungarian counterpart referred to Europe's 2015 migrant crisis and said his country was happy to share its experience in safeguarding the border and its "knowledge about how the frontier should be managed."

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP