Slovakia welcomes the EU military mission to counter the refugee crisis

Slovakia is ready to take on new tasks as part of a joint military mission in the Mediterranean Sea in order to counter the refugee crisis. The EU's foreign affairs ministers and defence ministers granted a formal approval to the launch of prep work for this mission on Monday. Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák praised what he called a step forward in that the prep work for the future mission has been greenlighted. "We've agreed that this mission needs to be given a legal framework, ideally an approval from the UN Security Council or an invitation from Libyan authorities," said Lajčák. He added that such an invitation isn't easy to secure given the political situation in Libya. Slovakia has already been taking part in Frontex operations, as it has provided experts and equipment designed to prevent people-smugglers from bringing refugees to Europe