Polish prime minister says his country and Finland want changes on EU border policies on migration

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s prime minister said on Friday that his country will upgrade the wall on its border with Belarus to better insulate the frontier against unauthorized migration.

Donald Tusk also said that Poland and Finland both see the need for changes in the European Union’s asylum legislation, which he called “inadequate” in the face of the current migration challenges and threats posed by Russia's and Belarus's policies that are pushing unauthorized migration into the EU.

Tusk spoke alongside visiting Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo following their talks on regional security. Both nations share borders with Russia while Poland also borders Belarus and Ukraine, which is fighting a war against Russia's aggression.

“Finland and Poland are ready to cooperate toward a tough, pan-European policy toward illegal migration,” Tusk said. "We are also interested in a reform of the asylum law because the legal environment today in the European Union is inadequate to the threats posed by the policy of Russia and Belarus."

Tusk said both Poland and Finland countries want to cooperate with other nations in the region toward the strengthening of their borders and defenses, and also civilian defenses in response to Russia’s aggressive policies.

Orpo called the current security situation “critical” and stressed the two countries will continue supporting Ukraine and will develop their own cooperation in the defense and armaments sector.