Today, 29 April, Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis participates in the European Union (EU) Ministerial Conference on the Implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The Pact, which reforms EU migration policy, has taken more than a decade to prepare at EU level, so the implementation mechanisms need to be effective.
The Pact comprehensively reforms the EU’s migration and asylum system by creating a new permanent EU-level solidarity mechanism, clarifying the timing and framework of the different procedures, providing for a binding border procedure and introducing a specific framework for crisis situations.
Kozlovskis stressed at the conference the most important elements for Latvia in migration management: tackling the root causes and facilitators of illegal migration, effective management of the EU’s external borders and a flexible approach to solidarity between Member States that respects each country’s national situation, geographical location, capacities, etc.
The aim of the conference is to discuss the way forward and the responsibilities of EU Member States in implementing the Pact.
The Ministerial Conference is being held in Belgium and is attended by representatives of the European Commission, the Ministers for Home Affairs and Migration of the EU Member States and Schengen associated countries and representatives of relevant EU agencies.
As already reported, EU Member States have been under increased migratory pressure for years. On 8 April this year, the European Parliament adopted new legislation on how migration and asylum issues will be dealt with at the European Union level.