From all the messages conveyed by NATO and European Commission leaders, as well as ministers of member states, during their visits to Latvia this week, the most persuasive was the cute orange cat that welcomed Jens Stoltenberg and his entourage at the Ādaži military base. But in the fight to secure the bloc's external borders, the countries threatened by migrants remain alone.
Apart from the pandemic, two threats are currently present in the Eastern European region. One is caused by the migrant crowds sent by Belarus and Russia to the EU and NATO borders. The other is Russia's maneuvering in relation to Ukraine. The two are linked, if only because Belarus's seemingly completely illogical actions are diverting attention from Russia's designs on Ukraine. But, as the echoes of this week's high-level meeting in Riga show, at least in public rhetoric, time is spent worrying about the poor people who are only dreaming of a better life in Germany.
The most popular formulation is the condemnation of the Lukashenko regime for its "cynical exploitation of vulnerable people". Or something like that. This was the message of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and even more colorful was the one by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen:
"These attacks, this confrontation, endanger the lives of innocent civilians who have been lured into Belarus by false promises." So the focus is not at all on the eastern borders and the threat to the Member States. Notwithstanding the fact that the Lukashenko/Putin migrant mobs also threaten the Christmas markets of prosperous Western Europe. The European Union's border protection budget allocation has been promised to be increased to 200 million euros, but von der Leyen has still not said the word "fence" when listing the possible uses of this money. The money will be earmarked for drones, cars and other equipment. But without a fence, such means would only allow migrants to be spotted earlier, warm blankets to be taken to them more quickly and asylum requests to be heard, rather than preventing them from entering the country criminally.
The only way the European Commission has agreed to make it easier for the authorities of countries threatened by migrants is by allowing an extension of the deadline for Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to register new asylum applications for six months. From ten days to four weeks. This will allow migrants to be held longer in foreign detention centers, reducing the current attractiveness of illegal border crossings.
But Latvia, like the other countries at risk, has to take care of the fence by itself, which would be the main help to the border guards and the army in guarding the national border in this situation. And this week, the government examined a progress report from the Ministry of the Interior and sent it to the Saeima for consideration. At least for now, the rapid progress requested by the Saeima can't be seen in the documents, and the completion of the permanent fence is not expected until 2024. This is according to the information report "On the progress of the construction of the infrastructure necessary for the protection of the external land border of the country". Regarding the temporary fence - coils of barbed wire on posts - the 37 kilometers of fencing was reportedly completed on November 24. The work was carried out simultaneously in five border guard units - in the territories of Robežnieki, Šķaune, Silene, Kaplava, Piedruja. The State Border Guard identified these border sections as the most at risk. But now it has emerged that when migrants are prevented from crossing at one point, they move a bit farther away and try again.
"The State Border Guard has identified additional sections of the external border between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Latvia that are the most endangered, with a total length of 22.80 km." Money has been earmarked for this purpose, and fences will be bought, but they can only serve as a temporary solution. In the videos circulated by the Poles, migrants can be seen knowing how to deal with the barbed wire. The same is likely to happen or is already happening here. Unlike their Polish and Lithuanian counterparts, the Latvian Border Guard is very scarce in disseminating information about what is happening at the border. But it is clear that Latvia needs a permanent fence with both Belarus and Russia. The situation on the Belarusian border is as follows:
"Within the framework of the project 'Establishment and arrangement of the infrastructure of the state border between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Belarus', 4 bridges have been built (over the river Asunitsa - 1, Rosica - 2, Sarjanka - 1). They are in the process of being put into operation. 172.9 km of the State border, including 134 km of permanent fencing, is to be constructed. On December 20, Valsts nekustamie īpašumi plans to send out an invitation to tenderers to submit quotations for 'design and build' works for the construction of the external border infrastructure between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Belarus."
Much, more work has been done on the Latvian-Russian border, but, it should be noted, the work has come to a standstill because the Ministry of the Interior has long been in conflict with the builder, Igate. The report to the Government and the Saeima says: "Within the framework of the project 'Establishment and arrangement of the infrastructure of the state border between the Republic of Latvia and the Russian Federation', 230 km have been constructed, including 95.2 km of permanent fencing and 4 suspension bridges. Some 53.6 km remain unbuilt. It has not been put into operation." Despite this, the site is being actively operated. Unlike the Belarusian project, no tender will be launched for the completion of the Russian border for the time being. First, an expert examination of the works done will be carried out, to find out what is and is not in line with the project, what has been done and what has not been done. Only then will a new fence designer and builder be sought. The money for the work to be carried out has already been earmarked:
16,923,461 euros for 2022,
19,801,070 euros for 2023,
6,584,479 euros for 2024.
Of the 3,757,531 euros earmarked for the temporary fence in 2021, 921,100 euros have been spent.
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