PM suggests Latvia may have to take in more refugees refugees

RIGA - It is currently unclear what Latvia could suggest regarding the call for setting quotas on the accommodation of refugees in the European Union, but Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma, of Latvia’s main ruling coalition party, Unity, does not rule out that Latvia will also be a country granting asylum to refugees.
In an interview with Latvian State Television on May 5, Straujuma said that Latvia would prepare its proposals to be reviewed at the next meeting of the EU interior ministers where the question of quotas would be discussed.

“However, I wish to emphasise that quotas for all member states will be set according to the principle of voluntariness, yet it is clear that we will have to show solidarity with the other EU member states on this matter,” said Straujuma.
When asked if Latvia would have to take in refugees, Straujuma replied in the affirmative, adding nevertheless that this matter had not been discussed yet, therefore she could not give a specific number of refugees that Latvia would have to accept.

The European Parliament has approved a resolution that urges member states to introduce quotas to help accommodate refugees arriving in Europe. The European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker has said that the Commission would make the same proposal for all EU member states.