European Union demands a change in the laws that allow migrants to be pushed back

"The European Commission (EC) demands that Poland, Latvia and Lithuania amend recently passed laws allowing the expulsion of migrants into Belarus," the independent Brussels news site EUobserver reported on Wednesday.

    The three countries have declared a state of emergency over Belarus's tactics of sending migrants from the Middle East and North Africa to the border. These actions have created tensions in Europe and led to calls for tougher sanctions on the Minsk regime.   

    "We are in close contact, in dialogue with these three countries," EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told a meeting of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday.

    "We are still assessing (the situation), but we  ask for some legislation to be amended," she added.

   The commissioner made such comments in response to wider concerns about the legitimacy of the return of migrants and asylum seekers to Belarus.

 

    Mr Johansson has previously said that "exclusion should never be normalized".

 

    Commenting on her statements, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said: "The European Commission gives the impression that the European Union lives on another planet and represents either that planet or the interests of Belarus and Russia."

    Poland passed a law in October that effectively legalizes the expulsion of migrants.

    Lithuania also adopted amendments in the summer allowing for collective expulsions in certain cases.

    On Tuesday, the country's parliament declared a state of emergency at the border and allowed border guards to use "mental coercion" and "proportionate physical coercion" to prevent people from entering from Belarus illegally.

    Latvia also applies similar tactics in areas where a state of emergency has been declared.

 

    Under EU law, Member States are obliged to receive migrants and examine individual applications for asylum.

 

    While calling for compliance with Community law, the EC also accuses the regime of Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenko of using migration as a "weapon".

    Mr Johansson also called for greater transparency on the Polish border with Belarus.

    Warsaw has established an exclusive border zone for humanitarian workers and journalists.

    The European Commissioner also noted that, unlike Lithuania, Poland has not yet admitted EU institutions such as the Border and Coast Guard Service FRONTEX and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).

    Warsaw has deployed about 15,000 troops and a large number of police officers along the 400-kilometer border with Belarus."