Lithuania calls for new of EU migration pact, fence to stand up to Belarus

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda attends a face-to-face European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda said on Friday the EU needed to swiftly overhaul its asylum laws and erect a fence to defend itself in the short-term from Belarus, which he said was "weaponising" migration and pushing people into bloc.

"We also should talk about a physical fence of physical border, which is extremely needed as a short-term measure," Nauseda said on arrival for a second days of talks among the bloc's 27 national leaders, long divided over how to handle migration.