President Zuzana Caputova welcomes the agreement reached between EU member states on the new form of the migration pact and praised the fact that the new mechanism also includes the principle of solidarity.
"I quite welcome this agreement because it's something that can help manage a migration crisis better, particularly next year because the numbers of migrants have seen a natural decline lately due to colder weather," said Caputova.
The head of state pointed out that Slovakia had intense experience with a migration spike this year. "We know what kind of problems it caused and how misused it became during election campaigning," she stated, adding that the situation led to the closing of border crossings and made the schengen zone inefficient.
The President warned that the migration is often misused to score political points and perceived purely as a negative phenomenon. "It'll become necessary for us to face this issue responsibly and, of course, first and foremost with a view towards the protection of our citizens. But also it must be viewed as an opportunity to address the lacking labour force in Slovakia and other countries."
On Wednesday, representatives of EU states and the European Parliament forged an agreement on the EU asylum system reform. In future, joint measures should be taken at external EU borders and a solidarity mechanism activated to aid southern EU countries, which are exposed to most intense migration pressures.
(TASR)
