In the last couple of weeks the illegal migration pressure on the Latvian-Belarusian border has relaxed, said Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma on Thursday, the 23rd of November.
He mentioned a drop in the number of illegal migrants has continued over the course of the past two weeks. On Wednesday
for the first time in a long time wasn’t a single attempt to cross the Latvian border.
At the same time, illegal migration pressure on the Lithuanian and Polish borders is on a rise, and Kozlovskis did not exclude that it may go up again against Latvia after some time. This is why the special regime on the border will not be lifted.
Over the course of the year law enforcement services have started 118 criminal procedures for support of illegal border-crossing.
When asked if it is necessary to close all border-crossing checkpoints on Latvia’s borders shared with Belarus and Russia, the minister said it will make sense to do it if all regions are on board.
Kozlovskis said border guards are still forced to work on high alert,
and they will be paid extra for that.
As for the interior sector’s over financial situation, the minister said the next year’s budget growth will not cover all needs, and in the 2025 state budget a bigger emphasis will have to be put on domestic affairs.
The main priority Kozlovskis wants to address is the “social guarantees issue”: introduce maintenance and rent allowances, which are currently set at EUR 400 and EUR 250 respectively and are not taxable. This will basically mean an increase of wages paid to workers by EUR 650 a month. This will require state budget funding of at least EUR 50 million.
Also read: Estonia also accuses Russia of increasing influx of asylum seekers
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