According to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Community’s streamlined efforts have produced good results: the EU-Turkey agreement that came into force two years ago has reduced illegal migrant flows. However, migratory pressures continue to affect Europe and the European Union is still the center of attraction for economic refugees seeking a better life.
The President pointed out that coercive measures were not working. In countries of migration origin, such measures are seen as an invitation for asylum in Europe. The European Union needs lasting effective solutions to address the root causes of migration, manage the flows of economic migrants, promptly react to emerging challenges, and prevent problems before they start snowballing.
It is necessary therefore to work consistently along several lines: to ensure effective control of external borders, to strengthen cooperation with third countries, to promote the development of African countries through EU and other international trust funds, to speed up the procedure of returning illegal migrants, to offer asylum options as near as possible to the zones of conflict.
Strengthening external borders is among key priorities. Lithuania proposes to create a single set of EU border standards for introducing unified systems, modern surveillance and control technologies across member states. It would help to eliminate the existing loopholes, which give irregular migrants easy access to the Schengen area in some member states.
Effective external border control is very important to Lithuania, which controls a 1,070-kilometer EU borderline using modern technologies along its greater part. Practice has demonstrated that advanced systems reduce border violations to minimum. Lithuania's experience can serve as an example to strengthen EU border control.
Lithuania also supports the European Commission’s proposal to increase the number of officers at the European Border and Coast Guard Agency FRONTEX.
