„It is perfect to have such a Migration and Asylum Pact, which will make it possible to deal much better with the flows of irregular migrants and asylum seekers. (...) Such a (Lithuanian – ELTA) solution will certainly have to be envisaged for a certain period of time. I mean that such decisions will have to be taken for one year,“ Vaščega told LRT radio on Thursday morning.
At the same time, Minister of the Interior Vladislavas Kondratovičius said that this decision on the alternatives to implementing the Migration and Asylum Pact in Lithuania will most likely have to be taken by the Government of Lithuania.
„No final decision has been taken so far. It probably could not have been taken so suddenly. The reason for the debate is that it has not been decided who will make the final decision. (...) If we are talking about a decision that is very much linked to the management of appropriations, I would think that it could be a decision of the Government,“ Kondratovičius said.
On Wednesday, the minister told LRT Radio that Lithuania's safest option when choosing between the Migration Pact's alternatives—accepting migrants or paying the money—would be to pay a „solidarity tax.“
The Council of the European Union (EU) approved the Migration and Asylum Pact last May. Under it, EU member states would have to accept around 158 migrants entering the EU each year or pay EUR 3.16 million.
After the EU Council approved the Migration Pact, former Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė said that Lithuania's decision on alternatives to the Pact would be determined by the country's financial and threat situation.
