Lithuania considers restoring border checks with Latvia as migration surges

Lithuania's incoming Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas has left open the possibility of temporarily restoring border controls with Latvia as the number of migrants reaching Lithuania from Belarus through Latvian territory continues to rise.

Secondary migration from Latvia has increased fourfold compared with the first half of last year, Caliber.Az reports, Lithuanian media.

The issue gained renewed attention last weekend after Polish authorities intercepted 27 migrants travelling irregularly in a truck that had crossed from Latvia through Lithuania.

Officials described the incident as one of many similar cases.

Poland has already been conducting checks on travellers entering from Lithuania and Germany for the past year, and Katelynas indicated that Lithuania could adopt similar measures on its border with Latvia.

"That would, of course, be the 'nuclear option'. But if we had no other way to manage the flow and stop migrants at the border rather than on our territory, I think we would have to do it. I very much hope it will not come to that," the incoming interior minister remarked.

Katelynas noted that any decision on border checks would depend on migration trends and the ability of border guards to cope with the situation.

"We need to discuss this with the border guards and their leadership to understand how much longer they believe they can cope. According to the information I have, not much longer," he added.

Lithuanian border officials argue that one of the biggest challenges is Latvia's slow pace in readmitting migrants who entered Lithuania from Latvian territory, despite its obligations to do so.

"We currently have 544 migrants who have not yet been transferred back. We have received positive responses for 132 of them, but no transfer dates have been set. This week, Latvia will accept only 20 from us," explained Antanas Montvydas, deputy commander of Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT).

Authorities have already intensified checks along the Latvian border, detaining nearly 120 migrants during inspections over the past month. However, officials warn that permanent controls would stretch available resources.

"We do not have dedicated resources at the internal [EU] border. We would have to redeploy officers from other borders and request assistance from partner agencies. We could not manage otherwise," Montvydas stressed.

Latvia has built fencing along its frontiers with Russia and Belarus, but Lithuanian officials believe significant shortcomings remain in the country's border security infrastructure. Nearly 8,000 migrants have attempted to enter Latvia from Belarus this year, almost nine times the number recorded at Lithuania's border.

"In practice, Latvia's border infrastructure is not yet fully developed. The physical barrier is unfinished, and surveillance and detection systems are incomplete. That has an impact on the migration flows," Montvydas pointed out.

Liberal Movement leader Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen opposed the proposal, arguing that Lithuania should first seek solutions through dialogue with Latvia.

"The measure he is proposing is an extreme one. We are part of the Schengen area, and introducing border controls would be a serious setback," she warned.

Meanwhile, Lithuania's State Border Guard Service has extended its support mission in Latvia, with a new contingent of nine Lithuanian border guards set to assist efforts to combat illegal migration.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov