The EU made a big-time decision this wednesday allowing east-european countries to put asylum rules on hold when they think Belarus and Russia are using migrants as political tools
In a ground-breaking move Donald Tusk Polands prime minister suggested about 2 months ago that his country needs a law to stop taking asylum requests for up-to 60 days (which hasnt started yet); this came as a response to growing border activity
The new EU rule gives countries like Poland a chance to protect its borders — while some rights groups dont agree with this approach its seen as a must-have tool to stop foreign pressure. The policy targets specifically situations where neighbor countries push migrants towards EU borders on purpose
The temporary freeze affects mostly countries that share borders with Belarus: they can now stop processing newcomers applications when they see signs of organized migration pressure