EU countries may limit right to asylum, European Commission says

The European Commission said on Wednesday that EU countries may suspend the right of asylum in certain circumstances when a major security threat is identified.

The suspension must be “truly exceptional, temporary, proportionate and for clearly defined cases,” European Commission Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen said in a Brussels press conference.

The commission was announcing a wider strategy to reinforce the bloc’s external borders against Russia and Belarus’ manipulation of migrants seeking asylum in the European Union.

The EU has long charged the autocratic countries with transporting migrants from Africa and the Middle East to the EU’s external borders to overwhelm the bloc’s asylum systems and destabilize security.

Countries bordering Russia, especially Finland, face major challenges, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

“Autocrats must never be allowed to use our European values against us,” she added.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner said Russia’s manipulation and “weaponization of migration” needs a firm response from the bloc.

According to the commission, irregular arrivals at the border between the EU and Belarus – especially in Poland – increased by 66% compared to 2023.

Poland announced in October that it intended to temporarily suspend the right to asylum at its border with Belarus in response to migrants being smuggled into the EU by Minsk and Moscow, triggering a debate in Brussels about the legality of such a move.

The commission also announced €170 million ($178 million) in EU budget funding for drones, cameras and other surveillance equipment for EU countries to strengthen their borders with Russia and Belarus.

Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and non-EU member Norway are to benefit from the new funding.