Ursula von der Leyen says EU will not fund ‘barbed wire and walls’

European Commission president commits to keeping up pressure on Lukashenko regime after migrant deaths

The EU will not fund barbed wire or walls", the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said, in defiance of calls from some governments to build protective defences against migrants seeking to enter the bloc.

A number of EU leaders have voiced concerns in recent weeks over a rise in numbers of people seeking to cross the bloc's borders, with eight having died at the Polish border with Belarus in recent months.