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The Ministry of International Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania has announced that the renovation works for the border patrol path along the Lithuanian state border with Belarus are commencing.
According to a recent statement by the Ministry, this path runs parallel to the physical barrier and the control track strip, playing a crucial role in monitoring and securing the border area, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The renovation efforts aim to improve the infrastructure and enhance border patrol capabilities, ensuring better surveillance and control measures.
“Investments in border protection pay off not only by preventing illegal migration but also by fighting smuggling. In recent years, the protection of the state border with Russia and Belarus has been strengthened to the maximum,” the Minister of Internal Affairs Agnė Bilotaitė said.
He also noted that the upgraded trail is expected to enhance the efficiency of border monitoring, enabling a more effective and timely response from border officers in cases of border violations and damage to the physical barrier.
As the Bilotaitė explains, the improved infrastructure will aid in more efficiently detecting and addressing any breaches or incidents along the border.
Approximately five kilometres of the patrol path have been installed, marking the initial phase of the project. The plan for this phase is to install around 100 km of the border patrol trail.
The Ministry also added that if additional funding becomes available, the intention is to continue installing the patrol path on another 253 km stretch of the border with Belarus. This extension would further enhance border monitoring and security measures.
The patrol path is designed to have a width of up to 3.5 meters and will be adaptable for various purposes, such as walking, driving all-terrain vehicles, quad bikes, and other specialised equipment.
The project aims to enhance the protection of the EU’s external border, emphasising the importance of border management and security. It is financed under the Border Management and Visa Policy Financial Support Instrument, part of the Integrated Border Management Fund for 2021-2027.
The project is valued at over ten million euros, with 75 per cent of the funding coming from EU funds and the remaining 25 per cent financed by the state budget.
Initially, the project was scheduled for completion in 2023. However, due to delays in public procurement procedures, it is anticipated that the work may be extended into 2024.
“Reliable protection of the state border is one of the priorities of ensuring national security, so we pay special attention to it. The external border of Lithuania and the EU is currently the most modern and the most reliably controlled in the community of the EU, and Schengen states,” the Commander of the State Border Guard Service Rustamas Lyubajevas pointed out.
The collaborative efforts of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have significantly improved the security and monitoring of the Lithuanian border with Belarus.
As a result, over the year, 530 km of fencing and 360 km of concertina barriers have been installed along the border. At the same time, modern border monitoring systems now control the entire length of the border with Belarus.
At the beginning of last year, only 53.3 per cent of the border was covered by these systems. However, considerable improvements have been made, and now the entire 1073.36 km perimeter of the EU’s external border is monitored using state-of-the-art intelligent systems.
Furthermore, the Ministry revealed that a little more than €200 million were invested in the renovation of the border infrastructure and €148 million to install a physical barrier. In addition, another €41 million were given for installing modern surveillance systems, €16 million for the renewal of transport and equipment, and now ten million euros for the border patrol trail.
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