Due to the Deterioration of the Situation with Balloons, the EU is Preparing New Measures 0 32

She stated this on Monday after a phone conversation with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.

"The situation at the border with Belarus is deteriorating, and smuggling balloons are increasingly penetrating Lithuanian airspace. Such a hybrid attack organized by the regime of (Alexander) Lukashenko is completely unacceptable. We remain fully in solidarity with Lithuania, and we are preparing further measures within our sanctions regime," the Commission Chair wrote on the social network X.

According to the presidential office, Nausėda thanked the European Commission and von der Leyen for their support "in responding to the recent events at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border and the hybrid attacks carried out by Belarus using weather balloons, as well as the threats to confiscate trucks registered in the European Union (EU)."

"The President emphasized that Belarus's inability to control its airspace, state borders, and territory, as well as to prevent organized criminal activity, represents a clear destabilizing and hybrid threat that cannot be tolerated," the statement said.

According to Nausėda, given the "rapidly changing situation" and its impact on the airspace of the entire EU, the support of the European Commission is of paramount importance.

"The President emphasized the need to use advanced technologies to detect and neutralize such threats, as well as to strengthen the exchange of best practices with allies, including the United States. Lithuania is ready to provide its territory for testing such technologies," the presidential office stated.

"The President called on the European Commission to enhance its support and take action on behalf of the EU," the press release said.

As reported by BNS, Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, who spoke on Monday with the head of the EU diplomatic service, urged not to allow Belarus to escape sanctions.