EU will not finance barbed wire or anti-immigrant walls, warns the European Commission

The European Union (EU) will not finance barbed wire or walls to contain the entry of immigrants, said this Friday (22.10.2021) the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the end of a summit of EU leaders.
“There was a discussion about physical infrastructure” in border protection, von der Leyen said, “and I was very clear that … there will be no funding for barbed wire or walls.”
EU countries, in particular Lithuania, accuse the Belarusian government of organising and allowing the passage of illegal migrants from the Middle East and Africa into the European area, in retaliation for EU sanctions.
In addition, in recent weeks several countries expressed alarm over an increase in cases of the so-called “second movement”, which refers to immigrants who enter the European space but settle in another.
In this scenario, an increasingly vigorous group of countries advocates the construction of “barriers” at the EU’s external borders to minimize the entry of those migrants.
In October, 12 of those countries sent a letter to the European Commission alleging that the construction and installation of these “barriers” should be financed with EU funds, so as not to leave the cost on the backs of the receiving countries of these people.
The European Commission had already expressed “favour” for the implementation of barriers between Lithuania and Belarus, but had also clarified that it would not participate in the funding.

Original source in Spanish