The European Commission suggests relocating 160,000 refugees. The emergency resettlement of 120,000 refugees from Greece, Italy and Hungary into other EU Member States would bring 1,502 refugees to Slovakia. This comes from the proposal of concrete measures to address the refugee crisis, which was unveiled by the European Commission on Wednesday. "If we add 785 migrants from the May proposal, Slovakia should receive 2,287 of the 160,000 refugees," says Andrej Králik of the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia. The proposal of EC President Jean-Claude Juncker has several positive points; the need for solidarity and help is absolutely clear, Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák stated. On the other hand, Lajčák sees two main problems. The European Commission should not monopolize the decision-making on such a serious issue. It should be debated by democratically elected leaders of the EU. Juncker's proposal provides the EU with vast powers and approaches this highly sensitive topic as an administrative procedure.
If it isn't possible to reach a consensus, then it's necessary to seek a different solution, said Slovak PM Robert Fico in response to the speech of EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. According to Fico, nobody can order a sovereign country to do anything when it comes to such a serious issue. The quotas are irrational, they don't resolve anything," said Fico. The prime minister stressed that Slovakia is ready to contribute towards protection of the outer Schengen border and to cooperate with countries where the migrants come from. The premier reiterated that Slovakia is ready to display solidarity with those who are in real need, but not with economic migrants.
Christian Democrats (KDH) disapprove of mandatory quotas to distribute migrants across EU member countries as this approach doesn't come to grips with the failures of some countries in migration and asylum policies. "Unless there's action to stop the genocide and barbarism committed by the Islamic State and the Schengen migration policy isn't adhered to properly, the migration wave will continue to grow," said Figeľ. Responding to criticism from Brussels that Slovakia wants to admit only Christian migrants, Figeľ noted that Christians are the most persecuted group in Syria and Iraq. "It's only natural that Slovakia is more open to accept Christian refugees," said Figeľ. Slovak MEP Monika Flašíkova-Beňová stated that the European Commission has been staying idle up to this point. "This stance has been nonsensical since the beginning" said Flašíkova-Beňová. She further emphasised that it's not only about the Commission's decisions. "Positions of individual member states are fundamental as well - with every state trying to limit the spread of panic and resolve the situation within its own capacity," stated Flašíkova-Beňová.
