On Monday, March 7, Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis participated in the EU-Turkey Summit in Brussels. The EU Heads of State or Government and Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoğlu, discussed the implementation of the Joint Action Plan to stop significant migration flows from Turkey.
The EU Heads of State or Government agreed that it is necessary to ensure a significant and sustainable reduction in the number of cases of illegal entry from Turkey in the EU. During the meeting, the Turkish Prime Minister confirmed his commitments within the framework of the bilateral Greek-Turkish Readmission Agreement, i.e. readmitting all those migrants who do not need international protection, as well as those migrants who have been detained in the territorial waters of Turkey.
Within the framework of existing commitments, the European Union will relocate the Syrians from Turkey to the Member States of the European Union. The European Union will also speed up the implementation of the visa liberalization road map with a view to introduce a visa-free regime for Turkish citizens before the end of June 2016.
The Heads of State or Government agreed that it is important to continue to forecast the possibility of the development of new migration routes and to continue the fight against human traffickers. Priority should also be given to preservation of the functioning of the Schengen area. The future of the Schengen area depends on efficient control of the EU's external borders.
Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis emphasizes, “I would like to express gratitude to the President of the European Council Mr. Tusk for his contribution to consensus building. Latvia appreciates the considerable efforts of the Greek government to cope with the emergency situation. Latvia, for its part, is ready to do its best to speed up the fulfilment of its obligations in the area of relocation."
Latvia has already launched the relocation of asylum-seekers who need international protection from Greece. “As regards the humanitarian assistance, we are ready to assess the needs of Greece in accordance with our capability and capacity,” said the Prime Minister.
Latvia also welcomes the launch of NATO's activities to provide support for addressing the refugee and migration crisis in the Aegean Sea.
The next European Council meeting is scheduled for March 17-18.
Supplementary information:Sabīne Spurķe
Consultant of the Communication Department
Phone: 20604166
E-mail: Sabine.Spurke@mk.gov.lv Andrejs Vaivars
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister
Phone: 29228678
E-mail: Andrejs.Vaivars@mk.gov.lv