The Lithuanian government on Wednesday expanded the criteria allowing to declare the extreme situation over the influx of irregular migrants based on the legislative amendments recently adopted by the Seimas.
At present, the extreme situation can be declared if thirty or more people per day attempt to cross into the country in the area of any specific border district.
On Wednesday, the government, following a proposal from the Interior Ministry, set out additional criteria for declaring the extreme situation.
One of the new criteria would concern hard data showing that irregular crossing of Lithuania’s border is being orchestrated, encouraged, or facilitated with the involvement of neighbouring countries and their authorities.
Also, the extreme situation could be declared if relevant authorities are not able to accept asylum applications immediately due to an influx of foreigners where the number of asylum seekers exceeds 100 people within three days.
Other criteria would be related to cases where the number of foreigners accommodated in the foreigners’ registration centre exceeds 360 people and the number of foreign nationals accommodated in the Refugee Reception Centre exceeds 500.
Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė told her cabinet colleagues that the new criteria would allow a more adequate assessment of the nature of irregular migration and would allow distinguishing between instrumentalised and natural migration.
The Interior Ministry seeks to establish new criteria in response to legislative amendments adopted by the parliament on Tuesday that legalise turning away of irregular migrants at the border under a state-level extreme situation regime or a state of emergency.
The amendments will come into force on May 3 if signed by President Gitanas Nausėda. However, human rights advocates intend to ask the president to veto the bill, which, according to them, contradicts international law.
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