Greens and Farmers Union chairman - refugees unwanted by 70 percent of Latvians

According to Augusts Brigmanis, the chairman of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS), refugees arriving to Latvia need to be told they are unwanted by 70 percent of the Latvian population. 

His comments were made during an interview on Latvian national television on the morning of October 7, 2015. 

He said the refugees needed to be given accurate information about the actual situation in Latvia, and not with with embellished stories. 

“If they were made aware of the attitudes of the local population to them, and about the size of payments from the Latvian benefit system,  wmost of them would not want to come here,” he said.

"Personally I do not want to see them here.”

The ZZS representative said also most refugees planned to go to Germany or the United Kingdom in the future and had no intention of staying in Latvia.

The Latvian government has adopted a tentative action plan for the admission of refugees in Latvia, which is expected to require an estimated 16 million euros. 

It has been agreed that the Interior Ministry presents an updated plan and cost estimates on October 20.

In line with the decision made by interior ministers of the European Union, 
Latvia has to take in additional 281 asylum seekers on top of the 250 asylum seekers it initially agreed on.

The total number of asylum seekers to be accepted by Latvia is 531.