Poland considers state of emergency in border regions

The government could introduce a state of emergency in regions close to the country’s Belarusian border owing to an alleged attempt by Belarus to destabilise Poland by pushing migrants across the border.

PAP learnt from a government source that on Tuesday the government will debate a draft motion on the subject, which it could then present to the president.

The source said that a state of emergency is to be introduced in parts of the Podlaskie and Lubelskie provinces.

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have accused the government of Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, of encouraging Middle Eastern migrants on its territory to cross into their countries as part of a so-called hybrid war against them.

On Friday, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said the crisis was not a migration problem but a part of the Belarusian policy of destabilising the EU.