On Tuesday, August 3, the Minister for the Interior Marija Golubeva informed members of the National Alliance of the current situation with national border security. Representatives of the State Border Guard also attended the meeting.
The Minister informed members of the measures taken to strengthen the national border. Although the number of border offenders has not yet increased, because of the situation in Lithuania both the resources of the State Border Guard and the personnel and material resources of the National Armed Forces, the Home Guard and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency FRONTEX have been mobilized.
Several regulatory enactments are currently being developed and the necessary financing for the construction of infrastructure has been estimated to move the installation of the border more quickly in line with the recommendations of the State Audit. During the meeting, the State Border Guard action plans in case of violation of the mass border were discussed.
“Latvia has been joint and active in border defense operations in other European countries, so Latvia can count on solidarity in the crisis. The representatives of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, FRONTEX, are already active in Latvia and, if necessary, the Agency is prepared to provide more support. In border control, we need to operate in line with the legal framework of the European Union in order not to lose this very important support, as has happened, for example, in the Hungarian situation. The State Border Guard is prepared to monitor the situation on our borders in cooperation with the National Armed Forces, as well as in regular contact with colleagues in Lithuania,” noted the Minister for the Interior.
During the meeting members of the National Alliance raised the issue of the use of special means against people illegally crossing the border. Both the Minister and the representatives of the State Border Guard noted that the use of special means against civilians who are not aggressive is not allowed either by European Union or Latvian regulatory enactments. The issue of regulatory frameworks for tightening up responsibility for those involved in smuggling people was also discussed in order to effectively discourage citizens from participating in migrant resettlement schemes. The Minister for the Interior will ask the Ministry of the Interior to evaluate the feasibility of imposing stricter penalties.
Prepared by:
Linda Curika
Advisor to the Minister for the Interior
Strategic communication issues
Email: linda.curika@iem.gov.lv