‘Greatest attempt to destabilise Europe’

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki yesterday called the migrant crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border, the EU's eastern frontier, the "greatest attempt to destabilise Europe" since the Cold War.

The premier issued his strong remarks as he prepared to meet with EU leaders at a time when Warsaw is facing not only a border crisis but heightened tensions with Brussels over allegations it is breaching its commitment to the bloc's democratic principles.

The West accuses Belarus of artificially creating the crisis by bringing in would-be migrants -- mostly from the Middle East -- and taking them to the border with promises of an easy crossing into the European Union.

Belarus has denied the claim, instead criticising the EU for not taking in the migrants.

Caught in the middle, migrants often report being forced to cross the border by Belarusian officials, then being pushed back into Belarusian territory by Polish authorities.

Belarusian President Alexander "Lukashenko launched a hybrid war against the EU. This is (the) greatest attempt to destabilise Europe in 30 years," Morawiecki said on Twitter.

"Poland will not yield to blackmail and will do everything to defend the EU's borders."

He also claimed that Lukashenko had the "back-room support of Vladimir Putin," the Russian president and an ally of the Belarusian regime.

Lukashenko told the BBC earlier that it was "absolutely possible" his forces had helped people cross into the EU but denied orchestrating the operation.

Brussels and Nato have previously also described the migrant crisis as a "hybrid tactic".

Some observers believe Poland is using its rhetoric on the border issue to try to distract from controversial reforms that the EU believes limit the independence of the judiciary.