BRUSSELS—The European Union will consider sanctions against people smugglers and those involved in human trafficking to address a surge in “irregular” border crossings from Belarus, the bloc’s top diplomat on Friday said.
Lithuania, an EU member state, has reported an uptick in illegal border crossings from neighboring Belarus and accused Minsk of flying in migrants from abroad and sending them over the border.
“The EU will consider the possibility of restrictive measures targeted at migrants’ smugglers abusing human rights or those otherwise involved in trafficking in human beings,” Josep Borrell said in a statement on Belarus on Friday.
Lithuania and the EU accused Belarus this month of using illegal immigrants as a political weapon to put pressure on the EU because of the bloc’s sanctions on Minsk.
“People who have no right to stay in the EU shall be returned. In this context, the EU and its member states will take all necessary measures in accordance with EU and international law,” Borrell said, adding that the EU and its member states had already increased support to protect the bloc’s borders.
Lithuania began building a 550-km (320-mile) razor-wire barrier on its frontier with Belarus this month.
Brussels has imposed a series of sanctions on Belarus since a disputed presidential election last August that was followed by a police crackdown on street protests.
