BRUSSELS, November 9. /TASS/. The European Union has decided to suspend the application of the EU-Belarus visa facilitation agreement for Belarusian officials, the European Council said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The Council today adopted a decision partially suspending the application of the EU-Belarus visa facilitation agreement," according to the statement. "This decision is a response to the ongoing hybrid attack" by Minsk, the statement said meaning the migration crisis on the eastern border of the European Union. "We strongly condemn and reject the continued instrumentalization of migration by the Belarus regime. It is unacceptable for Belarus to play with people's lives for political purposes. Today's decision shows once again our joint commitment to continue countering this ongoing hybrid attack," the European Council noted.

The decision will not affect ordinary citizens of Belarus, "who will continue to enjoy the same benefits under the visa facilitation agreement as they do currently," the Council explained.

With that decision of the European Council in place, Belarusian officials will have to provide additional documents to justify the targets of the trip to EU countries, while the visa processing fee will rise from 35 to 70 euro for them. Those requirements cover members of Belarusian official delegations, diplomats, government and parliament members, officials of regional authorities, members of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at the end of May that his country had served as a barrier blocking illegal migration to Lithuania, but in the context of the West's political pressure Minsk might stop to think if it should continue doing so.

The flow of illegal migrants to Lithuania and Poland through Belarusian territory soared this summer. According to the figures provided by Lithuanian authorities, more than 4,000 illegal migrants have managed to penetrate into the republic since the beginning of this year. Since the beginning of August almost 10,000 migrants have tried to illegally cross into Poland from Belarus, according to Polish authorities. Border guards have upset most of the attempts. As many as 1,200 illegal migrants are being kept at special centers in Poland. The authorities have found out that 50 of them may pose a threat to the country because they are connected with terrorist organizations or criminal groups.

The country's authorities have blamed the situation on the Belarusian leadership, which, Poland argues, lets migrants in and then sends them across the border to Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia with the aim of triggering a migration crisis in Europe.