“I think an in depth discussion is needed as regards what problem we are trying to solve, as this is related not only to the issue of workload on institutions (&) but also to a wider context,” the PM told reporters Tuesday.
Šimonytė notes that this is also the matter of political stance on Belarus. “Until now we have tried to distinguish the Belarusian people from the Belarusian regime. These were exactly the exemptions foreseen in the law. Another thing we should have in mind is that many people who have obtained temporary residence permits in Lithuania are not political refugees (&) but people working in sectors like construction and transport. This means this is a labour force, people who are labour migrants.
Clearly, if there are no labour migrants in the labour market, we will likely have a very long and difficult discussion with our business associations, which imagine that migration should be facilitated due to the shortage of workforce,” said Šimonytė.
Therefore, the head of Government calls to continue debates in order to find the best solution aimed at achieving several goals simultaneously.
Conservative MPs Paulius Saudargas, Laurynas Kasčiūnas and Audronius Ažubalis registered amendments proposing to suspend issuance of temporary residence permits to Belarusian citizens.
Parliament Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, leader of the Liberal Movement, opposes the idea and says the move would send a bad message to the Belarusian opposition and Belarusians persecuted by the Belarusian regime.
The State Security Department (VSD) has warned that Belarusian citizens residing in Lithuania might pose a national security threat. Currently 60,000 Belarusians live in Lithuania, yet VSD Director Darius Jauniškis in a recent interview to public broadcaster LRT stated that the number of Belarusians in Lithuania might grow to 100,000 by 2025 and authorities would be unable to screen all of them. He also noted that the Belarusian KGB is now as active as never before in Lithuania.
Čmilytė-Nielsen says she is aware of the VSD’s warnings but instead offers to provide more funding and resources to manage the flow of Belarusian migrants.
As regards opposition parties, the Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) is in favour of tighter restrictions on Belarusians, Democrats For Lithuania think the matter should be discussed further and the Social Democratic Party (LSDP) is against restrictions saying that the VSD director’s claims are unconvincing.
The Seimas imposed restrictions on Russian and Belarusian nationals this spring amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the role of Belarus in it. The law sets out stricter rules for granting permanent or temporary residence permits and visas, and bans the movement of Russian citizens across the external border of the European Union. It also restricts the right of Russian citizens to buy real estate in Lithuania. President Gitanas Nausėda has called to eliminate certain exemptions for Belarusian nationals and apply identical sanctions on them as on Russians.