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According to the president, persons from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Russia, Georgia, Belarus and lately from Ukraine are trying to enter the EU through the Baltic States and Poland.

Grybauskaite says that the European Council will support the ant crisis initiatives prepared by the European Commission with the purpose of curbing illegal immigration.

"We in the European Council will support and approve them and try to help those who are arriving as much as we can," she said ahead of the European Council's meeting.

Lithuania this year is planning to take part in eight FRONTEX operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

"Migrant influx from troubled regions of the world has become a problem of the entire EU: we cannot say that this problem is far away from us. The EU must take integrated measures to address the problems of refugee flows and prevent human trafficking," she said.

According to the President, increasing migrant flows is not just the Southern European countries’ problem; it is an EU-wide problem. And nobody can remain aloof from this issue.

Based on the information of the EU border management agency Frontex, 276 people arrived illegally in the EU last year, i.e. 155 percent more than in 2013. Germany received the largest number of asylum applications – 202,834, Sweden – 81,301, Italy – 64,886, France – 64,500, Hungary – 42,777.

Last year, Lithuania received 496 applications for granting refugee status.  6,000 illegal migrants were detained, mostly from Afghanistan, Syria, Vietnam, Russia, Belarus, and Georgia. Currently more than 39,000 foreigners reside legally in Lithuania.

According to the President, Lithuania stands in solidarity with the countries of Southern Europe as they are faced with a difficult challenge of rescuing and helping refugees. Our country is set to participate in eight Frontex operations this year. We will also send a helicopter with two crews for rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

Lithuania regularly contributes to the provision of humanitarian aid, including support to the victims of war in Ukraine and Syrian refugees, measures to fight the Ebola virus, contributions to the United Nations Refugee Agency and Central Emergency Response Fund, and assistance in dealing with the influx of immigrants to Malta.

EU heads of state and government are discussing a 10 point plan of the anti-crisis measures to curb illegal migration. First of all, it is proposed to enhance the EU’s role in conflict resolution in North Africa. It is also planned to reinforce Frontex operations in the Mediterranean, capture and destroy vessels used by people traffickers, and advance cooperation among EU law enforcement agencies Europol, Frontex, and Eurojust. Instruments are debated to improve people resettlement in emergency situations and ensure a smoother processing of asylum applications.