No affect of Poland's decision to restore border controls on traffic - Lithuania's SBGS

VILNIUS - Poland's decision made last week to introduce border controls on its border with Lithuania has not affected traffic between the two countries, Lithuania's State Border Guard Service says.

"The Polish checks have not caused any problems for travelers. There are no indications that the Polish checks on their territory have disturbed traffic in Lithuania to any extent," Giedrius Misutis, spokesman for the SBGS, told BNS on Monday.

According to border guards, Polish border guards returned 28 illegal migrants traveling from Latvia from July 7 to Sunday.

Since border controls were reintroduced, vehicles undergo regular checks at three border crossing points - Budzisko-Kalvarija, Lazdijai-Ogrodniki and Mockava-Trakiszki railway station, and are also randomly checked at ten other border crossings.

Poland resumed controls on its borders with Lithuania and Germany, with Warsaw saying it did so to stop secondary illegal migration where people enter Latvia from Belarus and cross through Lithuania into Poland.

In the first half of this year, 352 irregular migrants were apprehended after entering Latvia illegally from Belarus and then trying to reach Western Europe, mostly Germany, via Lithuania and Poland.

This inflow of irregular secondary migration from Latvia is 2.5 times higher than at the same time last year.

Under the Schengen Borders Code, the reintroduction of border controls can be extended for a maximum period of 30 days if necessary, but the total period cannot exceed six months.

At present, controls have been restored for one month, until August 5, although Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak has said that checks will last longer. He has also repeatedly said that Poland would lift these checks if Berlin did so.