Kucinskis: Latvia is prepared to speed up its involvement in resettling refugees

Leaders of European Union member states agree that it is important to significantly reduce the number of illegal migrants travelling into Europe from Turkey.

On Monday, 7 March Latvia’s Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis participated in an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels in order to discuss the realization of the Joint Action Plan with European leaders and Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. The main goal of this plan is to halt the inflow of illegal migrants from Turkey.

During the meeting, Ahmet Davutoğlu confirmed his responsibility in the realization of the bilateral return mechanism signed between Greece and Turkey. This mechanism states Turkey has to receive back all migrants that do not require international protection and migrants who were caught in Turkey’s territorial waters.

The European Union will carry Syrians from Turkey to EU member states and speed up the adoption of the visa liberalization’s road map in order to introduce a visa-free regime for citizens of Turkey by June 2016.

Leaders of European countries agreed that it is important to monitor the creation of new migration routes and continue combating human trafficking. In addition, it is no less important to continue efforts to preserve the Schengen Area. The future of the Schengen Area depends on effective management of Europe’s external borders.

«I would like to express special thanks to Mr Tusk for his major contribution to the formation of a single opinion on this matter. Latvia also welcomes efforts of the Greek government to overcome the emergency situation. Latvia is prepared to do everything in its power to speed up the fulfilment of its obligations in the field of resettlement refugees,» – emphasized Kucinskis.

Latvia has begun the process of selecting and resettling refugees on its territory. ‘In regards to providing humanitarian aid, we are prepared to assess the needs of Greece and provide the necessary support within our capabilities,’ – said Latvia’s prime minister.

Latvia also welcomes the involvement of NATO in monitoring and resolving the migrant crisis in the Aegean Sea, as confirmed by Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers.

It is planned that the next meeting of the European Council will take place on 17-18 March.

BNN 

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