Katelynas says EU migration pact limits border services

European Union migration and asylum rules limit the ability of border services to operate, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said on Monday, according to LRT. He said the pact should not undermine national security and may need to be reviewed in the future.

“The main problem, as we have already seen, is that the Migration and Asylum Pact limits the ability of border services to operate at the border,” Katelynas told reporters at the Seimas, Lithuania’s parliament.

He said the pact’s requirements should not come at the expense of countries’ security, adding that Europe should take into account the current situation in the world and in Europe.

Katelynas acknowledged that changing the pact during Lithuania’s presidency of the EU Council would be difficult because the presidency will last only six months. However, he said Lithuania would carry out an initial assessment of how the pact is working and try to submit proposals to its partners.

“Migration is now in Europe’s top three issues, and there are certainly many member states, especially those with an external EU border, that see the problems and are actively raising them,” Katelynas said.

Lithuania will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2027, taking over from Ireland and later handing it to Greece. The three countries form an 18-month presidency trio.

The EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact, adopted last May, aims to harmonise procedures for asylum seekers, migration and return rules, and border controls. One of its key provisions requires member states either to accept a set number of asylum seekers or make a financial contribution to the bloc’s solidarity mechanism.