Expulsion or Prevention?
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recently ruled that Lithuanian laws preventing illegal migrants from applying for asylum and allowing authorities to put them in automatic detention were in breach of EU directives. However, the Interior Ministry has indicated that it plans to propose legislation regularizing the practice.
Lithuania will continue its policy of turning migrants away from its border, said Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, but Vilnius faces “a lot of work” to bring its national legislation into line with EU law. According to Šimonytė, the state of emergency currently in place in Lithuania allows border guards to keep illegal migrants away.
Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė is planning to submit legislative amendments to parliament during its upcoming autumn session to cement in law the policy of turning away illegal migrants. Border guards currently deny them entry to the country on the minister’s decree. Bilotaitė said earlier that the respective law would allow border guards to use such measures when the country is under an extreme situation, a state of emergency or martial law.
Lithuanian border guards have stopped over 13,000 migrants from entering the country from Belarus since August 2021. Critics say that these actions effectively amount to expulsions, a practice that violates international law. The authorities maintain, however, that they are preventing migrants from entering Lithuanian territory, not expelling them.
The Fundamental Rights Office of Frontex, the EU’s border agency, has also criticized Lithuania for “collective expulsions”. According to the office, the practice runs counter to international law and the European Convention on Human Rights.
