Liam Thornton: Poland’s handling of migrants on border in gross violation of EU law

Belarus has tacit approval from Russia to use migrants as pawns in their dispute with the EU, writes Liam Thornton

Migrant children stand in front of a barbed wire fence and Polish servicemen at a checkpoint at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus last week.

The pictures on our television screens on the Polish-Belarus borders raise fundamental issues with the approach of the European Union towards persons potentially seeking protection.

There is no doubt that Belarus, an authoritarian and repressive regime, is using migrants as pawns in their political disputes with the EU. While this issue has impacted on Latvia and Lithuania, the key focus has been on Poland.