EU – Baltic States, EU – CIS, Labour-market, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Society

The minister said that the crisis has exposed the problems of shadow economy not only in Latvia but also in other countries. 

Rinkevics said that demand for repatriation is still strong. The Foreign Ministry currently knows about 2,400 more people who want to return to Latvia. 

The minister believes that the number of returnees could be even higher as many people in foreign countries are awaiting the Latvian government's decision on international travel after May 12, when the state of emergency is expected to end. 

Rinkevics indicated that the state does not cover the returnees' travel costs, but provides the opportunity to buy tickets for reasonable prices. The minister also confirmed that  repatriation flights will continue.  

When arranging repatriation trips, the ministry focused on helping those who are having social problems in foreign countries, Rinkevics said.

As reported, until May 6, when the second round of repatriation flights have been announced, the Latvian national airline airBaltic has operated and will continue to provide 30 flights from various European and non-European countries. Most flights are being conducted to and from Frankfurt and Amsterdam.