#EUFridays by JEF Hungary #2

Migrant Crisis at the Polish-Belarusian Border (Via Euronews)

The European Union and the NATO had accused Belarus for actively manipulating the emerging migrant crisis at its borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia by actively smuggling migrants into the country to dump them on at EU borders.

The European Commission alleged Belarusian president Aleksander Lukashenko “to use people as pawns” in an attempt to pressurise the EU as a counteract for the sanctions imposed on Belarus. Commission president Ursula von Der Leyen however, called for further sanctions and possible actions against third-country airlines involved in trafficking migrants into Belarus. European Commission spokesperson Adalbert Jahnz labeled the sudden rush of migrants as “a continuation of the desperate attempt by the Lukashenko regime to use people as pawns to destabilise the European Union and of course the values that we stand for and we have repeatedly firmly rejected attempts to instrumentalise people for political purposes.” He added that the Commission continues to encourage Poland to “avail itself of the support opportunities that exist at the European level”, such as Frontex, however, Polish authorities had not had a request for support at the borders.

The Polish government published a statement on Monday saying the “large groups of migrants” amassed at the border were under the “full control” of the Belarusian army and authorities. It also stated that "A coordinated attempt at a mass entry into the territory of the Republic of Poland of migrants used by Belarus for a hybrid attack against Poland has just begun.” The statement also called the situation a “form of revenge” by Lukashenko against sanctions imposed on Minsk. By now, the Polish army, border control and police mobilised more than 12 000 personnel in the area, saying the situation is under control. Interior minister Mariusz Kaminski added that “tough border defence” is the main scenario, but the army is prepared for any situation.

The NATO and the US State Department described the situation as “troubling” and “unacceptable” and demanded Minsk to using migrants as a “hybrid tactic” to manipulate the situation.

Risk of Rising EU-UK Tensions (Via BBC)

There have been countless news about political and economic debates between the EU and the UK since the former had left the Union in October 2020. Lately, fighting over fishing rights, trade and customs regulations and a possible trade war is what dominates the headlines, raising the question that the escalation of the situation could threaten EU-UK relationships, or even the peace in Ireland.

Although, according to EU officials “with some flexibility and pragmatism” from both sides, the whole situation could be easily solvable, the struggle between Britain and France over fishing licences in the Channel are unlikely to be settled soon. Both countries’ ruling prime ministers are preparing to general elections; French President Emmanuel Macron has to show for the rising nationalists in France, that he can and will defend the interests of his country; While British PM Boris Johnson’s toughness on Brexit issues suits well with the political narrative of his Conservative party. Johnson’s critics also label this debate as a diversion from domestic problems, such as soaring fuel prices, logistics problems, haulier shortages and recent report published by the Office for Budget responsibility stating that Brexit will cost more for the UK economy than COVID-19.

Despite the the fishing struggles being a Franco-British matter, the EU still comes into play as both sides accuse the other with breaching the Post-Brexit Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA). UK Brexit Minister Lord Frost warned, that if France takes the promised retaliatory measures it had promised, the UK would consider it as the breach of TCA and would take legal action against the EU as a whole. The EU’s opinion is that it does not punish the UK for leaving the EU, but Whitehall has to comply with its legal promises it made during Brexit negotiations.

Game-Changing EU Regulations Against Facebook (Via Eu Observer)

New EU-regulations on big tech companies could be a world wide “game changer for the online world” Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen said to MEPs on Monday. She stated that Facebook has become a trillion-dollar company at the expense of citizens’ safety arguing for a “safer, more enjoyable social media’.

A leak of Facebook internal documents called the ‘Facebook Papers’ contain compromising data about Facebook’s knowledge of the negative mental health effects of their social media platforms, Haugen stating that “almost no one outside Facebook knows what is happening inside Facebook”. She added, “Facebook repeatedly encountered conflicts between its own profits and our safety, and Facebook consistently resolve these conflicts in favour of its own profits” and claimed that the American company has proven to be harmful for the youth and for democracies.

The EU Parliament is currently finalising proposals for strengthening digital policy with two landmark digital policies. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are seen as the most ambitious tools to increase regulatory oversight over big data firms like Facebook. The leaked data confirmed that “self regulation by the companies themselves is completely failing” as pointed out by MEP Juan Fernando Lopez.

The new regulations are planned not only to address the systemic risks of big data companies and illegal content, but the whole working algorithms. Haugan said that Facebook’s system was proven to “amplify division, extremism and polarisation” on the platform, adding that a ‘content-neutral approach is needed as potential exceptions would water down the effect of the regulations and provide backdoors to surpass it.