BRUSSELS — The European Union on Wednesday proposed new measures that would allow Poland and other member states bordering Belarus to suspend some protections for asylum seekers, raising concerns that they may undermine the ability of migrants to seek refuge in the bloc.
The proposal from the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, would extend the period that Latvia, Lithuania and Poland would be able to detain asylum seekers while their applications are being processed. Aid groups said the rule change would leave applicants in a state of limbo and in increasingly unsafe conditions.
The three countries have taken a hard line against the migrants who have been trying to enter the European Union in recent months, and the bloc has stood with them even as border guards have illegally pushed back migrants or refused to process asylum requests, violating E.U. and international law.
So the proposal announced Wednesday appeared to be another concession to Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, and a likely deterrent for asylum seekers, immigration experts and human rights organizations said.
“The commission seeks to apply fundamental exceptions instead of making sure that current norms and standards are delivered by national governments,” said Sergio Carrera, a senior researcher at the Brussels-based Center for European Policy Research.
The commission said the measures would be temporary and were aimed at addressing the emergency situation in Belarus by giving member states “...
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