EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation, Real Estate

The pilot project was launched last year and is to end in February this year but now it has been concluded that six months is too short a period for integration of the refugee families in the Latvian society.

So far EUR 5,000 have been allocated to the project, but another EUR 9,300 will be needed to continue the project till the end of 2018.

Aija Bauere, the head of the Secretariat of the Society Integration Fund, said that the pilot project had revealed general and individual integration problems. In particular, there are problems with schooling and medical assistance as local teachers and medics are unprepared to work with refugees, above all due to the language barrier.

Supplying refugees with housing will not solve all problems because adults need jobs, children need schooling and everyone may need medical assistance once in a while, she said.

Three families comprising six persons, four persons and three persons respectively participate in the pilot project under which they receive financial assistance to pay housing rental, utility bills and certain other housing-related costs. At least one family member is required to have a job, others have to learn the Latvian language and children have to go to school.