The two politicians took part in debates on public radio LRT on Monday. The prime minister supported the position that Lithuania should receive a set quota of migrants.
“Both options are presented as a great juxtaposition. But I do not think it would be a problem for Lithuania to integrate 158 people if they wanted to live in Lithuania and integrate,” said Šimonytė.
The PM added that Lithuania should not forget that it is a part of the EU and thus has to fulfil its commitments and show solidarity with other member states.
“It cannot be that all countries decide to pay money and then others will be left with all the people and with all the problems of migration,” stated Šimonytė.
Meanwhile, Nausėda opposes Lithuania accepting more migrants, especially as the number of foreigners is constantly growing.
“I believe the financial contribution is the alternative that should be considered, taking into account that the movement of nations in Lithuania has been great recently and as we see that the number of foreigners in Lithuania is growing fast. Some have permanent residence permits in Lithuania, while others have temporary residence permits. We have to control these processes and not just observe them, otherwise we will wake up one day and realise that we are no longer the majority,” noted Nausėda.