Latvia most anti-immigrant of all EU countries

Take note – story published 8 years ago

Latvia receives a decidedly lukewarm rating in the latest Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), released Friday which measures policies to integrate migrants in all EU Member States, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA.

Latvia is placed 37th our of 38 countries in the survey which uses 167 policy indicators on migrant integration designed to benchmark current laws and policies.

The data suggests "The Latvian general public has the highest levels of anti-immigrant attitudes in the EU" despite being the country with the largest number of non-EU residents (15.3%).

"Little has improved in Latvia's integration policies since 2010," the report says.

"Latvia still has the weakest integration policies among EU member states, as its current approach creates almost no targeted support and many more obstacles than opportunities for non-EU citizens," it continues.

"Latvia's slight areas of strength were required by the EU," the report says in a generally damning list of deficiencies.

Overall, Latvia mustered just 31 out of a possible 100 points on migrant integration. Neighboring Estonia in contrast scored 46 (ranked 22) while Lithuania scraped together 37 points to give it 34th place.

The full report can be read here.

 

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