Estonian and Latvian ministers discuss curbing illegal migration

Estonian and Latvian interior ministers discussed ways to curb illegal migration at the Piusa border guard station on Friday, ERR reported. Estonia’s Igor Taro said the country was considering giving border guards wider powers to stop border violations, including the use of lethal force.

The ministers said migration pressure was likely to ease for a time as winter approaches, but that effective measures were still needed to persuade Belarus to stop facilitating illegal migration to the Baltic states.

Taro said one option would be for countries to close their border crossings with Belarus temporarily. He said this could send a message to Belarus, adding that the measure had worked in Poland’s case.

Latvia’s interior minister, Jānis Dombrava, said his country had changed its laws to enable border guards to respond more effectively to border violations and damage to infrastructure. He said the changes gave guards more scope to use weapons against people illegally crossing the border or targeting technological infrastructure, and could also serve as a deterrent.

Taro said Estonia was reviewing whether its legal framework needed to change so that border guards would have clear authority to use all necessary means, including lethal force, to stop hostile activity in the border zone.