Lithuanian president joins EU leaders in call to halt instrumentalised migration

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, together with the leaders of 18 other EU member states, has urged the European Council and European Commission to take joint action to stop human smuggling and instrumentalised migration, LRT reports.

In a joint statement, the leaders emphasised the need to continue combating situations where human traffickers profit and migration is weaponised. The signatories include Lithuania, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Sweden, Slovakia, Belgium, Malta, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovenia.

The group acknowledged recent progress in addressing migration challenges, noting that innovative solutions could help reduce irregular migration flows into Europe and increase the number of returns to countries of origin.

“Together, we have changed the European discourse on migration and achieved broad agreement that we need a firm yet fair European migration policy—one that ensures the cohesion of our societies and protects the most vulnerable,” the statement reads.

The leaders stressed that the next step is to achieve concrete results, particularly by implementing new solutions in third countries. They believe this is the most effective way to dismantle smugglers’ business models, remove incentives for irregular migration to Europe, and ensure the return of those without the right to stay.

As a positive example, the group cited cooperation between Italy and Albania, as well as efforts by other EU member states to establish migrant reception centres in third countries. The signatories called on all EU member states to strengthen cooperation with potential partners in migration management, urged the European Commission to continue supporting these efforts—particularly financially—and asked the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration to actively engage in managing migration flows to Europe.