Refugees are not taboo

The President of the Nordic Council, Höskuldur Þórhallsson, and the President of the Baltic Assembly, Dr. Giedrė Purvaneckienė, opened the annual meeting of the two organisations on 7 December 2015. It began with an evaluation of co-operation in 2014–2015 and a presentation of the Action Plan for Co-operation 2016–2017, and ended with a reasoned discussion of the current refugee crisis. During the debate, Pyry Niemi, chair of the Nordic Council Business and Industry Committee, spoke of his experience of living in a multi-ethnic country and invited the Baltic partners to work even more closely together with their Nordic counterparts.

High walls are no solution

Christian Juhl (Denmark), another member of the Nordic Council, also made clear his opinion of handling of the crisis.

“It is important that we think twice. Of course, we have to stop the war that has brought about this situation, but we also have to make sure new wars do not flare up. We also have to bring about economic development and improve living conditions in the refugees’ homeland. Otherwise, this crisis will last forever. High walls will never keep out refugees,” he said.

Erkki Tuamioja (Finland) welcomed the Baltic partners to Finland and invited them to share their experiences of and ideas regarding refugees and migration.

“Our doors are open,” he said.

The Nordic and Baltic countries have reacted differently to the refugee crisis but are at least willing to discuss problems and learn from each other’s experiences. The refugee crisis was also one of the main topics of debate at the Session of the Nordic Council in Reykjavík, 27–29 October.

About the meeting (in English)

http://www.lrs.lt/intl/ba2015.show?theme=1763&lang=2&doc=7823

Action Plan for Co-operation 2016–2017

http://www.lrs.lt/apps3/1/4909_Action_Plan_en_2016_2017.pdf