Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Tusk admitted that Poland’s controversial fence had failed and that further steps needed to be taken to stem the flow of migrants.

“This fence does not meet our expectations,” he said. “The Border Guard and the army have both approached me during my visit to the Polish-Belarussian border and spoken about the need to strengthen defenses in that area. That plan is the bare minimum.”

Choosing his words carefully, Tusk emphasized that the overwhelming majority of migrants coming from the east were destabilizing the country. “These are not refugees, there are less and less migrants,” he said. “In eighty cases out of a hundred, we are dealing with organized groups of very aggressive young men between the ages of 18 and 30.”

Belarus has repeatedly been accused of engineering the crisis by coordinating the influx of young males from Africa and the Middle East before pushing them towards Poland. The policy is widely understood to be part of a plan to destabilize NATOs eastern flank.

Tusk called on increased spending to seal the country’s Belarusian border and noted examples where the fence had been breached through the simple use of a carjack. In his address, he pledged to provide the Border Guard and the army with additional financial, logistical and organizational support.