Poland's border guards prevented migrants from attempting to break through the border.
Merkel will meet with the Polish head of government.
The news ticker.
Once again, three larger groups of migrants tried in vain to cross the Polish border and get into the EU
(first report on November 24th, 1:19 p.m.)
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In the meantime, the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko warned of war with Poland and described this as a "catastrophe".
Chancellor Merkel now wants to meet the Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki
(update from November 24, 2:20 p.m.)
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This news ticker is continuously updated.
Belarus conflict: Macron demands press access to the border - Tichanovskaya demands "more decisive action"
Update from November 24th, 3:20 p.m.:
In view of the crisis surrounding migrants at the EU's external border, French President Emmanuel Macron has demanded free access for journalists on the Polish side of the border.
The Elysée Palace announced on Wednesday after Macron's meeting with Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Poland does not currently allow journalists to enter the border area.
Macron also reiterated solidarity with Poland in the face of the destabilization of the border. France stands ready to contribute to general security and supports a humanitarian operation on the ground, said the Elysée Palace. In addition, the question of the rule of law was a topic of discussion. Macron had expressed concern and urged Poland to comply with EU law.
Morawiecki said he had spoken to Macron about the fears associated with several actions taking place at the same time, the PAP news agency reported. “On the one hand, of course, this is the situation on our eastern border, which is at the same time the eastern border of NATO (...) and the EU. By defending it, we are defending the EU. ”The other is the concentration of Russian army units on the border with Ukraine and blackmailing over the price of gas. "All of these actions should lead to an answer - and this answer is the solidarity of the EU."
Update from November 24th, 3:15 p.m.:
The Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya has called on the EU to take more decisive action against the ruler Alexander Lukashenko. "We need a more active European approach when it comes to autocracy," said Tichanovskaya on Wednesday in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. At the same time, she welcomed the sanctions imposed by the EU on those around Lukashenko.
"Let me assure you: sanctions work. Stick to a consistent sanctions policy," said the exiled opposition leader. "Sanctions divide the elites, destroy corruption plans and divide the people around Lukashenko." She called for more support for the opposition in Belarus, including the media and human rights activists. "People must feel that they are not being left in the lurch," said Tichanovskaya. According to her, statements in which the European Union expresses its "deep concern" are not sufficient.
At the beginning of the week, Tichanovskaya called on the EU governments to refrain from "any contact" with Lukashenko.
The Belarusian leadership must first meet important demands of the opposition before a "real dialogue" can take place, she said on Monday.
She also criticized the phone calls that Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) made with Lukashenko last week because of the refugee crisis.
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The Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya has called for the EU to take more active action against autocracy.
© Julien Warnand / EPA / POOL / AP / dpa
Belarus crisis: Chancellor Merkel will meet with the Polish head of government - "Germany's full solidarity"
Update from November 24th, 2:20 p.m.:
The Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) wants to discuss the situation of migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border at a meeting in Berlin with Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki this Thursday. The government spokesman Steffen Seibert announced on Wednesday in Berlin. The Federal Government is aware that Poland is "extremely challenged" by the situation on the border - as are other countries with a border with Belarus. “But Poland is hit particularly hard.” Merkel phoned Morawiecki last week to promise him “Germany's full solidarity”. This will also be the focus of the conversation on Thursday.
The German government and the other EU member states wanted good humanitarian conditions to be created for the people along the Polish-Belarusian border, said Seibert.
In addition, there must be access for the UN refugee agency UNHCR and for the International Organization for Migration.
These should not only be able to provide acute help locally, but also help to bring people back to their home countries “in a safer way”.
Everything that happens along the border has to be in accordance with the applicable law, emphasized Seibert.
Belarus conflict: Polish border guards foiled border breakthrough - “aggressive migrants” throw stones at Polish officials
First report from November 24th, 2 p.m .:
Thousands of migrants are still at the eastern EU * external border between Poland and Belarus *. The refugees hope to be accepted into the European Union. There are also repeated attempts to breach the border, which the Polish border guards have so far been able to stop. On Tuesday evening
(23 November),
according to the Polish border guards, three large groups of migrants tried in vain to break through the border barriers from Belarus and enter the EU illegally. A soldier was injured in the head and had to be treated, a spokeswoman for the authority said on Wednesday.
In the vicinity of Dubicze Cerkiewne, a group of more than 100 people tried to penetrate into Polish territory. "These people were very aggressive, they threw stones at Polish officials, threw a boardwalk on the barbed wire barricade, migrants cut through parts of the barrier," said the spokeswoman. The group managed to get to the Polish side in the short term. But they were arrested and taken back to the border.
Two more attempted border breaches occurred near the town of Mielnik, where groups of around 30 migrants tried to cross the border in the evening and shortly before midnight.
The border guards registered a total of 267 attempts to illegally cross the border.
Since Poland does not allow journalists into the area, the information cannot be verified.
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Thousands of migrants are currently in refugee shelters near the Polish border.
© Andrey Pokumeiko / BelTA / AP / dpa
Lukashenko: ruler says war with Poland would be a catastrophe and relies on Europe giving in - "we are not barbarians"
Meanwhile, the authoritarian Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko * warned of war with Poland. This would be a “catastrophe”, said Lukashenko: “We have to convey to the Poles, every Pole, that we are not barbarians. We don't want a confrontation, we can't need it. Because we know that if we overdo it, a war is inevitable and that would be a catastrophe. "
At the same time, Belarusian President Lukashenko is counting on Europe to give in.
He criticizes the European Union for not wanting to take in the refugees at the border.
Previously, he claimed several times that the Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel had promised him that she would examine the situation at EU level.
In addition, the Belarusian leadership referred to Merkel as a “humanitarian corridor to Germany”.
This claim has been denied by the federal government.
(bb with material from dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubric lists: © Nikolay Petrov / BelTA / AP / dpa
