EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Society

In responding to objections voiced by several committee members that Latvia's position was not taken into account during the negotiation process, the minister said that a task force has been established, consisting of representatives from several ministries, to prepare the respective model and vision.

"We will not have to grant the status if we have any suspicions. We will have a choice in every individual case," said the minister, explaining that the current number of refugees to be accepted is a lot smaller than the one proposed initially. "We had two choices – to accept the current figure or one that was three times higher," the minister stressed.

Furthermore, Kozlovskis explained that the refugees will have to be taken in over a period of two years, and the first ones could arrive in Latvia in the winter. According to Kozlovskis, refugees could be arriving in Latvia "every three months".

As reported, during an emergency Cabinet meeting on July 6, the government approved Latvia's position on providing asylum for refugees, agreeing that Latvia could accommodate a total of 250 immigrants in the next two years.