By Edvardas Špokas, LRT TV, LRT.lt.

As Lithuania’s attractiveness to foreign jobseekers coninues to trail behind Latvia and Poland, businesses, while recognising the security risks, are urging the government to distinguish between economic migrants and those seeking long-term residence in Lithuania.

The President’s Office, meanwhile, says it is time to review the current quotas for hiring workers from non-EU countries.

For new foreign employees, the light has turned red. The Migration Department has stopped accepting applications to hire new foreign workers as the annual quota has been reached.

“This poses a challenge for the entire Lithuanian economy, as a large part of our industrial and service sectors depend on workers from third countries,” said Povilas Drižas, Vice-President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists.

“For some companies, this comes as a real shock,” added Saulius Drazdauskas, Director of recruitment agency On Top LT.

Read more: LRT.LT