Migrants, refugees will face digital fortress in post-pandemic EU

Efforts to stop people from entering the European Union illegally are being ramped up with experimental new digital barriers.

As the world begins to travel again, Europe is sending migrants and refugees a loud message: Stay away! Greek border police are firing bursts of deafening noise from an armoured truck over the frontier into Turkey. Mounted on the vehicle, the long-range acoustic device, or “sound cannon,” is the size of a small TV set but can match the volume of a jet engine. It is part of a vast array of physical and experimental new digital barriers being installed and tested during the quiet months of the coronavirus pandemic at the 200-kilometre (125-mile) Greek border with Turkey to stop people from entering the European Union without documents.