On the continuous Belarusian hybrid attacks against Lithuania

B100578/2025

European Parliament resolution on the continuous Belarusian hybrid attacks against Lithuania

(2025/3025(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU of 29 October 2025 on Belarus’ hybrid actions at the EU external border,

– having regard to the public declaration by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, describing the smuggling balloon incursions as a ‘provocation’ and a ‘hybrid threat’ that we cannot tolerate,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Belarus and the complicity of the Belarusian authorities in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,

– having regard to the report by Special Adviser to the President of the Commission Sauli Niinistö of 30 October 2024 entitled ‘Safer Together – Strengthening Europe’s Civilian and Military Preparedness and Readiness’,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Lithuanian officials report that since the start of 2025, around 600 weather balloons linked to smuggling and originating from Belarus have entered EU airspace, which has led to 16 closures of airports, affecting over 300 flights and more than 47 000 passengers, and causing more than EUR 750 000 in losses to Lithuanian airports and aviation companies; whereas the Lithuanian Government considers that the weather balloons are now primarily targeting the country’s main international airport;

B. whereas on 9 December 2025, the Government of Lithuania declared a ‘nationwide emergency situation’ in response to the ongoing and escalating balloon incursions originating from Belarus, recognising the threat these actions pose to national security and civil aviation safety;

C. whereas the weather balloons were initially used to carry smuggled cigarettes over the border, with most of these cigarettes then consumed in Lithuania; whereas the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that it confiscated 1.4 million packs of illicit cigarettes in 2024, of which 1.2 million packs were marked for sale in Belarus;

D. whereas the use of these weather balloons is considered a form of hybrid attack because they can also ‘double’ as sabotage tools by forcing the closure of airports for safety reasons, and thus form part of a broader hybrid campaign against Lithuania;

E. whereas Belarusian hybrid attacks follow the example of Russia, which has repeatedly violated the airspace of EU Member States and NATO allies for decades; whereas such airspace violations have rapidly increased over the last year and present a reckless escalation that threatens regional security; whereas the EU has imposed sanctions on Belarus and has expressed the political will to adopt further measures in response to Belarus’s escalating hybrid attacks against the EU;

F. whereas the growing repression in Belarus, especially since the 2020 fraudulent elections, has resulted in high levels of migration from Belarus, mostly to Poland, Lithuania and Georgia; whereas Lithuania currently hosts over 50 000 migrants from Belarus, including many political activists in exile; whereas Lithuania has long been a key supporter of Belarus’s democratic movement;

G. whereas Belarus has been involved and complicit in Russia’s unprovoked, unjustifiable and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, in gross violation of the United Nations Charter and its own international commitments;

H. whereas EU countries in the Baltic Sea region and along the eastern border face persistent provocations by Russia and Belarus and must maintain a high level of readiness and resilience;

1. Expresses its solidarity with Lithuania and stresses the importance for EU Member States to stand united in the face of provocations by Belarus and Russia; stresses that the EU must not condone hybrid attacks against any of its Member States; reaffirms that any attack on the security and stability of one Member State is considered an attack on the EU as a whole and requires a united and robust European response;

2. Strongly condemns Belarus’s persistent and provocative actions against the EU and its Member States, which are unacceptable; considers that these actions are intentional, coordinated and hostile acts, all aiming to undermine international law, security, civil aviation safety and public order in the EU; calls on the Belarusian regime to cease all airspace violations and to fight against organised criminal activities in Belarus;

3. Welcomes the EU sanctions that have been imposed on Belarus since 2020 and urgently calls for further effective sanctions in response to this latest hybrid campaign against Lithuania; reiterates its call on the Member States to impose sanctions on Belarus equal to those imposed on Russia, particularly on officials responsible for transnational repression; welcomes proposals for sanctions targeting nitrogen fertilisers on top of already sanctioned Belarusian potash, along with an EU import ban on Belarusian rapeseed oil and salt;

4. Insists that urgent needs cannot wait for the next multiannual financial framework and calls for the launch of another off-budget financial facility that would sufficiently pool and Europeanise parts of national defence budgets at EU level and address the entire life cycle of military capabilities, from collaborative research and development and joint procurement to joint maintenance, training and security of supply, and that, like the current off-budget European Peace Facility, would be open to non-EU countries such as Norway and the United Kingdom; stresses, therefore, the need to improve decision-making and oversight procedures compared to the current European Peace Facility governance model; calls on the EU Member States to use loans under the Security Action for Europe initiative in this regard;

5. Highlights that both Belarus and Russia are engaging in an active strategy of hybrid attacks against EU Member States to sow fear and distrust and to test and destabilise societies; stresses, therefore, the importance of societal resilience and preparedness, as highlighted in the recommendations of the Niinistö report;

6. Requests the Commission to prepare measures to protect critical infrastructure and to safeguard the continuity of trans-European transport services against such hybrid actions in the future;

7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the international accountability of the Belarusian regime for illegally restraining EU vehicles and for endangering the safety and security of civil aviation;

8. Calls for the EU and its international partners to strengthen sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for the evasion of sanctions, the undermining of democracy and the rule of law, repression, human rights violations and crimes against humanity, and for Belarus’s participation in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, while also closing sanctions loopholes;

9. Urges the International Criminal Court to expedite proceedings on crimes against humanity by Lukashenka’s regime and demands that Member States pursue accountability through national proceedings, based on the principle of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction, consistent with international due process standards;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of NATO and the President and Parliament of Belarus.