Katelynas says Poland has eased checks at Lithuanian border

Lithuanian Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas says Poland has eased checks at its border with Lithuania and traffic queues are no longer forming, LRT reported Monday.

Speaking after a meeting with Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski, Katelynas said checks were allowing vehicles to pass more quickly than in the summer, when queues stretched for several kilometres. He said he had urged Poland to end the checks or, if that was not possible, make them less strict.

Kierwinski said the checks had not been tightened and were being conducted selectively. Poland would end them when the reasons for keeping them in place no longer applied, he said.

Katelynas said he understood Poland’s concern that ending checks abruptly could lead to a sudden increase in secondary migration. He said the numbers were not large, but that Poland preferred to continue the measure rather than end it too soon and potentially reinstate it.

Poland has extended checks at its borders with Lithuania and Germany for six months, until March 30, 2027. The measures are intended to limit irregular migration and strengthen security, according to the Polish Interior Ministry.

Poland introduced temporary border checks in July 2025. The ministry says that since checks resumed, nearly 1,300 people have been refused entry at the border with Lithuania and nearly 1,200 at the border with Germany.