BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission will invest more in surveillance at the bloc’s borders with Russia and Belarus, it said on Wednesday, as it accused Russia of encouraging migrants over the border in a “hybrid war” tactic.
Countries including Poland and Finland will benefit from an additional 170 million euros ($178.57 million) “to upgrade electronic surveillance equipment, improve telecommunication networks, deploy mobile detection equipment and counter drone intrusions,” it said in a statement.
Finland has accused Russia of encouraging migrants from countries such as Syria and Somalia to cross the border – an assertion Moscow denies.
Poland has raised concerns about Belarus reportedly offering migrants an unofficial route into Europe. Belarus rejects the accusations.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s new executive vice-president in charge of security, said the situation on Europe’s borders was “very serious”.
“Russia uses weaponisation of migration as a new tool in the hybrid war against the EU. We must not allow any hostile state to abuse European values, including the right to asylum,” she said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Finland, Poland, Norway and the Baltic countries were “bravely keeping our borders safe from threats of all forms coming from Russia and Belarus”.
($1 = 0.9520 euros)
(Reporting by Lili Bayer; Editing by Christina Fincher)
