Society
refugees
Politics
Refugee integration funding still to be worked out, Lithuanian deputy minister says
It is too early to tell how much money will be allocated per refugee for their care, says Lithuania’s Deputy Social Security and Labour Minister Algirdas Šešelgis. […]
Politics
Society
Barbershop in Vilnius that prefers to employ refugees
As Lithuania is drafting plans how to integrate refugees from the Middle East that the country has agreed to accept, with some expressing doubts about opportunities for them to find jobs in the relatively closed and ethnically homogeneous country, there is one business in Vilnius that exclusively employs foreigners, many of them refugees from the Middle East. […]
European Union
Lithuanian president rails against economic migrants prior to European Council meeting
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, who is attending a European Council meeting to discuss the refugee crisis, says that economic migrants should be separated from genuine war-fleeing refugees and the latter are not supposed to be picky which safe country to go to. […]
Opinion
Sigmar Gabriel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier: A confident and realistic approach to refugee crisis
What are our obligations to those threatened by war and violence? What and how much can we cope with? When will we reach our uppermost limits? Each of these three questions is quite legitimate. But if the debate is restricted to the media soundbites “we can do it” and “the boat is full”, then the refugee crisis threatens to tear our society apart. We need an honest discussion about our realistic scope for action. […]
Foreign affairs
Society
Commission to ‘promote’ Lithuania among refugees
An interdepartmental commission, set up in Lithuania to oversee resettlement and integration of refugees, is putting together a plan how to promote the country among asylum seekers. Lithuania has pledged to resettle 1,105 refugees as part of an EU effort to ease the refugee crisis and will seek that the asylum seekers come to the country willingly. […]
European Union
Lithuanian interior minister says EU’s return policy should be more ambitious
On Thursday Lithuania’s Interior Minister Saulius Skvernelis is attending the European Union‘s (EU) Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg. Responding to a recent refugee crisis, ministers of the EU member states will negotiate on external border control and on the future of return policies as well as on the implementation of the decision to relocate 40,000 migrants from Italy and Greece. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuanian PM: We need to ‘motivate’ refugees to choose Lithuania
As the Lithuanian delegation visiting Greece has so far struggled to find a refugee family willing to seek asylum in Lithuania, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says that the country must to more to inform refugees about itself and “motivate” them to come. […]
Foreign affairs
Refugees will not be forced to come to Lithuania, PM says
As a Lithuanian delegation is visiting Greece and unsuccessfully looking for refugees who could be resettled to Lithuania, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says that migrants will not be brought to Lithuania by force. He hopes to find ways to encourage refugees to come here voluntarily. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuanian president: Russia’s involvement in Syria will make refugee crisis worse
Russia‘s recent involvement in the war in Syria will only worsen the plight of refugees who are making their way to Europe in thousands, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė says. […]
European Union
European Union
No threat of epidemics from refugees, European commissioner assures
Amid growing migrant flows to Europe, people fear that refugees will bring old forgotten diseases. However, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, has rejected such fears, saying they are groundless. […]
Foreign affairs
Opinion
Opinion: Managing refugee crisis and main risks
Discussions about the refugee crisis and how to solve it has moved from the European Union to the United Nations General Assembly, where most national leaders spoke about settling the conflicts in Syria and Iraq and fighting international terrorism. Among the highlights were the speeches and meeting of the presidents of the United States and Russia. […]
Politics
Minister discusses refugee integration in Lithuania’s labour market with employers
Social Security and Labour Minister Algimanta Pabedinskienė on Wednesday met with representatives of employers and investors and discussed the best ways to integrate refugees in Lithuania’s labour market. The minister was interested in the employers’ needs and capabilities. […]
Society
Society
Politics