Prime Minister: Albanian family should be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds
While Estonia still hasn’t had much success finding refugees to relocate in accordance with EU quotas, the Police and Border Guard apparently refused to grant asylum to an Albanian family.
The family of five who live in the accommodation center for asylum seekers in Vao was rejected despite the fact that the children learned Estonian and the father found work as a welder, the Estonian daily Postimees reported earlier today.
Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas (Reform) commented on the case, saying that there also had to be room for humanity.
“I talked to many people about it this morning, and they told be that no one is sending the family out of the country at the moment,” the PM said at a Government press conference earlier today. He added that the proceedings were still ongoing.
“It is, of course, an extremely specific field with very strict regulations, but I think that there should still be room for humanity in such cases, room for the consideration of the circumstances of every single case,” Rõivas continued.
“I don't think that Estonia should be closed to all the people who want to work here, who want to move here with their families. Rather the opposite. I think that when there are people willing to accept the Estonian language and culture, who are ready to contribute to Estonian society, we should be open to them,” he said.
Rõivas said that he had spoken to Kalle Laanet, chairman of the Estonian parliament's Constitutional Committee, about the possibility of adding points to amendments currently being discussed that would make way for asylum granted on humanitarian grounds.
He added that the Police and Border Guard Board felt the same. “In addition to this case, I think we have room for offering more people asylum coming from Ukraine.”
Editor: Dario Cavegn