EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Real Estate, Society

Aleksandrs Bartasevics. BC's photo.

At the moment, the issue of accepting refugees from Libya, Syria, and other countries is becoming more popular, while Latvian municipalities are examining their possibilities of accommodating refugees in their territories.

The mayor believes that the majority of refugees come from conflicts, which involve the European Union's member states – Italy, France, Great Britain. "This conflict has certain grounds, and these people have their reasons for leaving their country. In part, this is also due to foreign policies that are being exercised by some European countries, which is why it would be only fair if countries, which took the respective decisions, also took responsibility over the consequences of their foreign policies," said Bartasevics.

In discussing Latvia's position on the refugee issue, Bartasevics believes that this is not an issue of solidarity of the European Union, but a matter of each EU country's responsibility over the consequences of its actions, and Latvia should not answer for other countries' decisions by taking in refugees.

"We know the consequences of such decisions – there will be additional communities, which will fail to fit in the atmosphere of Latvian culture. This will also cause social disagreements, among other problems, which Latvia has failed to solve even with its local residents," believes Bartasevics.