Foreign Minister threatens to resign over UN Migration Pact

Minister of Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajčák (Smer-SD nominee) is willing to consider resigning from his post if Parliament rejects the UN Global Migration Pact. He made this statement before the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. "As a minister I have been pushing for a democratic, European vision of Slovakia as a country which is part of the solution; but if the overwhelming will of MPs is that Slovakia wants to be isolated, wants to be part of the problem and leaves solutions to others, then I cannot agree on conducting such a policy," the head of Slovak diplomacy said. The UN adopted the document on migration last year, at the time when Lajcak served as the president of the UN General Assembly. The main goal of the 34-page document is to help better organise migration flows and strengthen migrants' rights. The junior coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) is strongly against Slovakia signing the UN document with the senior coalition Smer-SD party as well as the Opposition parties Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and We Are Family having expressed their reservations about the document as well. Meanwhile, some countries, including Australia, Austria, Hungary and the USA have already announced their withdrawal from the pact, with other countries planning to follow their steps.