Latvian president: Poland, Finland could join Baltic free movement area

After Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia restore free movement within the Baltic region later this month, Poland and Finland could join the area in the future, Latvian President Egils Levits said on Wednesday.
The three Baltic prime ministers agreed on Wednesday that the three countries would reopen their internal borders to each other's citizens from May 15.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis has mentioned that the common area could be extended to include Poland in the future, and Estonia believes that Finland could be invited to join, too.
In an exclusive interview with BNS, the Latvian president said he supported the idea, but added that the epidemiological situation must be taken into account before making decisions.
"Early in the morning, our prime minister had a conference with the Lithuanian prime minister and Estonian prime minister on this question, and the goal is to create a Baltic common zone where the movement of people and food could be allowed, because in our three countries, the pandemic is less widespread than in other parts of Europe, and, therefore, it's the first zone in Europe where we can open the borders," Levits said.
"Yesterday, Lithuanian Prime Minister [Saulius] Skvernelis said that Poland could also be invited to join the zone because the situation in Poland is similar to the situation in the Baltic states, less dangerous than in the western part of Europe, and Estonia is thinking that, in the future, Finland may be also invited, because Finland is a better situation, too," he said.
"The three Baltic states [would form] a core of such kind of zone in order to restore normality in Europe, but maybe we can create a greater zone in Europe, a northeastern European zone including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland," the Latvian president said.
"It depends on the epidemiological situation and also on political decisions by the governments, but I, personally, am strongly for such a development," he added.
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Editor: Helen Wright