The final wording of the Latvian position was revised from the original one, as well as several correction were made to specific points, but Latvia has finally officially agreed to take-in the said number of refugees in addition to the 250 already agreed.
As reported, several Saeima deputies walked out of this morning's meeting of the European Affairs Committee, and no decision was taken on the acceptance of refugees in Latvia due to lack of a quorum.
MPs Rihards Kols (VL-TB/LNNK), Armands Krauze (Greens/Farmers), Edgars Putra (Greens/Farmers) and Julija Stepanenko (Harmony) departed, leaving the Committee short of numbers.
LETA reported, in an emergency government meeting Thursday, the Latvian government supported the official Latvian position, which foresees Latvia will voluntarily take in an additional 526 refugees.
The Latvian position points out that it does not object to a coordinated EU action in relocating refugees, however, it maintains that such activities can only be done voluntarily, and that each country holds the right to decide how many refugees it will take in.
Speaking on Latvian Radio in the afternoon, President Raimonds Vejonis denied that the country was in the grip of a constitutional crisis as a result of weeks of bickering among political parties.
"We do not have a constitutional crisis, we have a party political crisis," Vejonis said, reminding party leaders that he would hold them accountable for their handling of the issue.
