>Poland has received support from Olaf Scholz for the construction of border fortifications. Even the construction of a wall is a matter for the Polish government and it is not up to Germany to criticise this.
Olaf Scholz has defended Poland against criticism that it is increasingly strengthening its border with Belarus. The EU partner is facing a very dramatic challenge and needs solidarity, the SPD politician said on Monday evening at an event organised by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Asked whether he was in favour of building a wall on the EU’s external border, the chancellor-designate of a traffic light coalition said: “I think if the Polish government makes such a decision, it’s not up to us to say it shouldn’t do it.” He said it was too easy to condemn something from a distance but not be able to say how to do it better oneself.
“I think that what is being done there will certainly help to ensure that it is not so easy to simply continue this shameful game there,” Scholz added, referring to smugglers and the Belarusian government. The latter is accused of deliberately bringing migrants into the country in order to bring them to the EU’s external border. Scholz called for “clear, tough” sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. He was a “very bad dictator” and had lost all legitimacy. He said that efforts must be made to ensure that a democratic process can take place in Belarus. He also supported EU sanctions against airlines and aid for the people in the Belarusian-Polish border region. Support for the return of people to their homeland was also important. We should not play Lukashenko’s game and that of the smugglers who lure people to Belarus with false promises.
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>Poland has received support from Olaf Scholz for the construction of border fortifications. Even the construction of a wall is a matter for the Polish government and it is not up to Germany to criticise this.
Olaf Scholz has defended Poland against criticism that it is increasingly strengthening its border with Belarus. The EU partner is facing a very dramatic challenge and needs solidarity, the SPD politician said on Monday evening at an event organised by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Asked whether he was in favour of building a wall on the EU’s external border, the chancellor-designate of a traffic light coalition said: “I think if the Polish government makes such a decision, it’s not up to us to say it shouldn’t do it.” He said it was too easy to condemn something from a distance but not be able to say how to do it better oneself.
“I think that what is being done there will certainly help to ensure that it is not so easy to simply continue this shameful game there,” Scholz added, referring to smugglers and the Belarusian government. The latter is accused of deliberately bringing migrants into the country in order to bring them to the EU’s external border. Scholz called for “clear, tough” sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. He was a “very bad dictator” and had lost all legitimacy. He said that efforts must be made to ensure that a democratic process can take place in Belarus. He also supported EU sanctions against airlines and aid for the people in the Belarusian-Polish border region. Support for the return of people to their homeland was also important. We should not play Lukashenko’s game and that of the smugglers who lure people to Belarus with false promises.