London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

EU to send aid to migrants at Belarus border

EU to send aid to migrants at Belarus border

The EU said on Wednesday it will send 700,000 euros worth of food, blankets and other aid to migrants at the Belarus border, after criticism it had done too little to help thousands of people trapped in frozen woods by an east-west feud.

In a sign of European urgency to resolve what it calls an artificial border crisis created by Minsk, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone on Wednesday for the second time in three days to Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko.

A day after Polish border guards used water cannon against migrants hurling stones, the situation at the frontier appeared to have grown calmer. Polish and Belarusian border guards both said some 2,000 migrants were right at the border fence.

The head of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the aid, while saying it was up to Lukashenko to halt a crisis that Europe believes he created deliberately.

"We are ready to do more. But the Belarusian regime must stop luring people and putting their lives at risk," she said.

The EU says Minsk has flown in thousands of migrants from the Middle East to push them to cross illegally into the bloc, in order to put pressure on Europe in retaliation for sanctions imposed against Belarus over human rights abuses.

Belarus denies fomenting the crisis but says it cannot help end it unless Europe lifts sanctions it imposed since Lukashenko cracked down on opponents after a disputed election last year.

Poland's Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told Polish public radio on Wednesday the crisis at the border was likely to last months: "We have to be prepared that this situation on the Belarusian border won't settle swiftly," he said.

Several thousand people have been camped out in the woods as winter approaches, suffering from frost and exhaustion, and barred either from entering Poland or returning into Belarus.

At least eight have died at the Polish border since the crisis started this summer. Neighbouring Lithuania and Latvia have also experienced a sharp spike in attempted irregular crossings from Belarus.

EAST-WEST ROW


The EU has called on Russia to make Lukashenko end the crisis. Moscow denies any direct role but has offered to mediate, while also demonstrating support for Lukashenko by staging military exercises jointly with Belarus near the border.

Merkel's phone calls with Lukashenko are an unusual sign of direct outreach to a leader Europe has shunned as illegitimate since last year's election. In statements following the calls, Merkel's spokesperson Steffen Seibert referred to him as Mr Lukashenko, without referrence to his title as president.

Merkel "stressed the need, with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration and the cooperation of the European Commission, to provide humanitarian aid and repatriation facilities to the affected people," Siebert said of Wednesday's call.

The EU has blacklisted Lukashenko and dozens of Belarusian state officials and introduced economic sanctions on trade since the crackdown that followed last year's election. It is now expanding sanctions on travel agents and airlines involved in what it calls "human trafficking" behind the border crisis.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) might also halt investments in Belarus, a source told Reuters. The bank currently has 914 million euros ($1.03 billion) in projects there.

EU IN A BIND


The bloc has so far largely supported Poland's nationalist government in taking a hard line at the border, fearing that allowing migrants to cross would encourage more to try.

Police in Germany - a top destination for immigrants once they reach the EU - say they have registered 9,549 illegal entries from Belarus via Poland this year. In figures that show how suddenly the issue emerged, they reported only 26 such cases between January and July, rising to 474 arrivals in August and 5,285 in October.

Preventing uncontrolled immigration has been a central political issue for the bloc since 2015, when more than a million people arrived from the Middle East and Africa, triggering feuds between member countries over how to share responsibility for caring for them.

The EU was caught off guard, its welfare and security systems were strained and the ensuing chaos triggered a surge in nationalist movements, also contributing to support for Britain's exit from the bloc.

The EU has since tightened external borders and paid to host migrants in countries such as Turkey, and stop them along migration routes in Libya and elsewhere, often in dire conditions. Rights groups decry the EU's restrictive tactics as aggravating human suffering.

"The European Union doesn't have a good common migration policy, despite obvious need for one after the previous migration crises," said Linas Kojala, director at the Eastern European Studies Centre think-tank in Vilnius.

"Each time it needs to look for ways to extinguish fires. And it lacks tools to use against regimes hostile towards it, including Belarus and Russia."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×