In an interview to LNT the President Andris Bērziņš said he opposed the quotas for residence permit granting in Latvia, according to ee24.com citing baltic-course.com.
Bērziņš believes that the ruling coalition renounces long-term national interests for the sake of political gain from adopting populist amendments. Latvia's population has been steadily declining. The peak number of residents was reached in 1989, when 2.67 million people lived in the country. By 2000, that number dropped to 2.37 million, and by 2012 - to 2.04 million.
The President says it is necessary to increase the annual quota from the current 2,000 to 3,500 . At the same time, as earlier reported by ee24.com, deputies plan to reduce it in 2014-16 to 800, 525 and 350, respectively.
Moreover, such restrictions may lead to corruption. This opinion was recently announced by Inta Shaboha, a representative of the Latvian Bureau on prevention and fight against corruption.