Lithuania ready to accept more refugees: PM

Lithuania will house in as many refugees as it was earlier agreed within the EU, Algirdas Butkevicius, Lithuania's prime minister, said on Thursday.

He also said he believed that Europe would be able to manage the current migration crisis, despite spreading pessimistic views towards the issue.

"I believe Europe will overcome the crisis as there is no other solution," Butkevicius said in an interview with local broadcaster Ziniu Radijas.

"Political leaders must adopt decisions which would ensure that the European Union is a stable system, as well as Schengen should operate further on," he added.

In words of Butkevicius, Lithuania is ready to accept as many refugees as it was agreed before. All necessary provisions have been made in order to guarantee that the process is smooth, he noted.

Discussions about managing the EU's refugee crisis intensified recently, with influential European leaders warning that in a couple of months the flow of migrants heading towards the EU will renew, therefore, necessary decisions must be taken urgently. The subject is on top agenda of World Economic Forum Annual Meeting taking place this week in Davos, Switzerland.

Lithuania has pledged to take in 1,105 refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Eritrea over the next two years under the EU migrant relocation scheme.

The first Iraqi refugee family arrived to Lithuania in mid-December. The family is suing Lithuania's Migration Department at a court as it was expecting to receive refugee status in the Baltic country instead of legal protection status they were granted by the department. Endit