Former President of Latvia Egils Levits, in an interview with Andrei Panteleev in the series of talks "Latvia 2035," outlines strict red lines in Latvia's immigration policy, writes Otkrito.lv.
Levits warns that the proportion of Latvians in the country is too small to allow for mistakes.
Egil Levits emphasizes that Latvians make up just over 60% of their state, and this fragile balance cannot be jeopardized by thoughtless labor imports. He calls for a selective immigration policy with clear criteria.
"And it should be said right away — not from countries where the Russian language is popular," Levits is categorical. Instead, he suggests focusing on countries with a Christian culture, such as the Latin American region, citing Ireland as an example where immigrants from Brazil successfully integrate.
However, the best solution, according to the former president, would be to follow the Japanese model. Faced with a declining population, Japan said 'no' to migration, instead choosing to adapt its economic system — increasing productivity and implementing technology to maintain a high standard of living even with fewer people.
Despite criticizing the current authorities of Latvia, Egils Levits looks to the future with optimism. He acknowledges that Latvians have a national trait — a tendency to complain a bit and believe that things are worse for them than for anyone else.
"Against the backdrop of Europe, we look quite good. Of course, we ourselves think that we are doing very poorly, but that is not the case," the former president concludes, expressing confidence that in critical moments, Latvian society is capable of making the right state decisions. Therefore, he assesses the situation in the country in 2035 positively.
