Border Protection Extended
For security considerations, Latvia has decided to continue its heightened border security measures along the boundary with Belarus until the middle of 2026.
On Monday, the Interior Ministry in Riga stated that the government's choice stems from "continued disproportionately high number of illegal border crossing attempts."
This year alone, authorities have thwarted over 12,000 attempts by migrants to enter Latvia illegally from the neighboring country, which is under authoritarian rule.
The special regulation, previously extended multiple times and set to expire at year's end, will now remain effective until June 30, 2026.
This extension grants Latvian border guards broader authority in the eastern regions of the Baltic nation. Additionally, plans are underway to enhance the border with more technical infrastructure by the end of 2026.
Latvia's eastern border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia, spans approximately 172 kilometers. Along with Poland and Lithuania, Latvia accuses Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of facilitating migrant transport to the EU's external border to exert pressure on Western nations.
