EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ilva Johansson has expressed support for EU countries that are building fences at the external borders to prevent the illegal entry of migrants.
“Further efforts are needed to protect the external borders,” she told a news conference after the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council. Some countries have decided to build fences, and I can understand them, I do not mind. It’s a nice idea? I don’t think of building fences at the expense of the EU, ”she added.
Johansson answered a question that expresses the opinion of the EC, not his own. She added that states have the right to protect their borders and can best assess the means needed to do so if they are within European law.
The European Commission confirmed earlier today that it had received a letter from 12 countries – Bulgaria, Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia – calling on the EU to support construction on curbs. The commission said it would respond to the request later.
Slovenian Interior Minister Ales Hoys, as chairman of the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council, said his country also supported a call for European funding for the construction of border barriers. He noted that 50 migrants are detained in the EU every day after illegal arrival. According to him, this means that the external borders are not sufficiently protected.