Statewatch News Online: Germany: Border control and deportation operations to Belarus
28 March 2012
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Germany 
Border
control and deportation operations to Belarus
26.9.12
The German magazine Junge
Welt published on 30 August 2012 an article which looks at
cooperation between the German police (Bundespolizei) and Belarus
in border control and return of irregular migrants.[1] German
cooperation is part of wider cooperation at an EU level with
the former Soviet republic.
Border control at EU's eastern borders
Germany has been involved in building Belarus's border management
capacity for several years. The German government confirmed,
in its answer to a parliamentary request by the parliamentary
group Die Linke that support in training and equipment worth
€20 million (about £16 million) was provided to the
Belarusian police by the German Ministry of Interior since 2008.
Up to 2011, no less than 26 border control related cooperation
with Belarus measures were made. In 2010, the Bundespolizei established
an office in Minsk, Belarus's capital city. Cooperation is reported
to have stopped after the crackdown on protesters in Belarus
following the contested results of the general elections in December
2010. [2]
Cooperation with Belarus is part of Germany's wider involvement
in securing EU's eastern border. In 2007 already, the Bundespolizei
participated with Polish border guards in Frontex's joint operation
Ariadne at the Polish-Belarusian border. In 2011, it was part,
together with 23 other EU and non EU countries including Belarus,
of Frontex Jupiter Joint Operation at the EU eastern land borders.
Cooperation with Belarus: contradictory moves from the EU
Belarus has a strategic location for the European Union for two
main reasons.
First, it shares a border with three EU member states which are
part of the Schengen area: Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. This
part of EU's eastern external border is subject to particular
surveillance. As explained by the International Organisation
for Migration's (IOM) office in Minsk:
"Due to its geopolitical location, the Republic of Belarus
remains a popular transit route for irregular migrants moving
westward in search of a better life".
Several cooperation and capacity-building projects on border
surveillance have been launched and funded by the European Commission
as a result. Some EC funded projects are implemented by the IOM,
like the SURCAP project (Strengthening the Surveillance Capacity
on the Green and Blue Border between Belarus and Ukraine)[3],
or by law enforcement authorities of Latvia, Poland and Belarus
in the framework of the 2007-2013 European Neighbourhood and
Partnership Instrument programme. [4]
Second, Belarus is also
a major "transport gateway for the EU with Russia"
[5], not least with respect to energy supply. The Russian company
Gazprom announced in January 2012 that it "would increase
the gas volumes to the EU via Belarus to 4bn cubic metres in
2012". [6]
Yet, contradictory signs have been sent by the EU which seems
to have oscillated between realpolitik and caution in its cooperation
with a country notorious for its poor human rights record. A
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement was signed in 1995 although
it is yet to be ratified [7]. Cooperation improved in 2006 based
on what the Commission called a "constructive and open"
dialogue on human rights between the EU and Lukashenko's authoritarian
regime.[8] However, sanctions against many officials could not
be lifted due to the lack of reforms and respect for civil liberties
and fundamental rights in Belarus and have remained in place
so far.
In July 2012, Member States expressed "dismay that none
of the remaining political prisoners have been released as part
of the recent prisoner amnesty". As sanctions will be reassessed
by the end of October 2012, the Commission made clear "that
the restriction of political contacts with Belarus will be subject
to due consideration". [9]
International obligations
Despite the strong statements by the Commission and the awareness
on the human rights situation in Belarus, cooperation has not
stopped. Border control cooperation is ongoing, Belarusian border
guards participate in Frontex operations in the framework of
a working arrangement signed with the Agency in 2009.[10]
Cooperation with Belarus is emblematic of the ambiguous position
of the EU and Frontex in their external relations. Contrary to
human rights violations within Belarus which result in sanctions
taken by the European Union against some of the country's officials,
nothing seems to justify the suspension of border cooperation.
This is particularly true of Frontex which considers that it
should only make sure that itself and "the competent authorities
of the partner countries afford full respect to human rights"
[emphasis added]. [11]
Yet, cooperation with third countries such as Belarus may have
consequences for the rights of people who are removed to this
country, whether nationals or migrants who transited through
Belarus (negotiations towards a readmission agreement applicable
to nationals and non-nationals have started in February 2011).[12]
The same logic seems to apply in the German government. In its
reply to Die Linke, the government highlighted that "detention
conditions in Belarus prisons and punishment camps for political
prisoners were to be criticised"(die Haftbedingungen in
belarussischen Gefängnissen und Straflagern "vor allem
für politische Häftlinge zu bemängeln" seien).
Sources
[1] 'Abschieben
nach Belarus', Matthias Monroy, 30 August 2012, Junge
Welt
[2] 'Should
Germany be blamed for cooperation with Belarus police?',
Nadine Lashuk, 29 August 2012, Belarus Digest
[3] IOM
Belarus
[4] The
list of the 2007-2013 ENPI border management cooperation projects
between Latvia, Poland and Belarus
[5] European Neighbourhood &
Partnership Instrument: Cross-Border Cooperation Strategy Paper
2007-2013 - Indicative Programme 2007-2010
[6] 'Gazprom
to increase gas transit through Belarus', 29 January
2012, New Europe Online
[7] Partnership
and Cooperation Agreement with Belarus, IP/95/158, 22
February 1995
[8] Council of the European Union, EU/Belarus
Human Rights Dialogue Prague, 16-17 June 2009, 11196/09
(Presse 187)
[9] 'Statement by the Spokesperson
of High Representative Catherine Ashton following the meeting
of the Political and Security Committee on Belarus',
A366/12, 10 August 2012
[10] Working
Arrangement on the establishment of Operational Cooperation between
the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States of the European
Union (Frontex) and the State Border Committee of the Republic
of Belarus, 21 October 2009
[11] Frontex's website on cooperation
with third countries
[12] 'Adoption
of a Council Decision authorising the Commission to open negotiations
for the conclusion of an agreement between the European Union
and Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of short-stay
visas', 6453/11, 18 February 2011
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