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Latvian president calls for analysis of EU proposal for asylum rule overhaul

Xinhua, April 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis believes the European Commission's proposals for an overhaul of the European Union's (EU) asylum rules require a detailed analysis, according to the president's adviser.

Asked about the president's position on the European Commission's plan to revise the bloc's asylum rules to ensure a fairer distribution of migrants across EU member states, Vejonis' adviser for legislative and legal affairs Kristine Jaunzeme told Latvia's news agency LETA that in the president's opinion, the proposals have to be thoroughly assessed and that the government has to work on Latvia's national position regarding the issue.

Vejonis also believes that reinforcing the EU's external border is a necessary precondition for a substantial overhaul of the current refugee admission system, known as Dublin rules.

Martins Dregeris, a spokesman for Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics, said it is necessary to study the European Commission's proposals before working out Latvia's national position.

The European Commission on Wednesday came up with an initiative to revise the EU's asylum rules to fix the current migrant handling system. The Dublin rules have been criticized as obsolete and unfair to the countries like Italy and Greece that are bearing the brunt of the migration crisis.

Under the Dublin regulation, refugees' asylum applications have to be processed in the first EU member state they enter.

The European Commission's Vice President Frans Timmermans said at a news conference Wednesday that the"present system is not working". Enditem