Slovakia is against any mandatory resettlement of refugees according to any EU distribution formula, stated Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák. European Commissioner for Migration and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos presented 10 measures designed to immediately respond to the current situation focused on the thousands of illegal migrants currently trying to get into Italy and Greece, with many perishing in the process. These measures will be a basis for Thursday's 23 April EU extraordinary summit. One of the proposals is an emergency relocation mechanism.
Some argue that this is a gesture of solidarity towards Italy and Greece which are facing the influx of migrants. Slovak Minister Lajčák argues that Slovakia is a 'transit country' and that the migrants will choose their own their destination at the end of the day. Slovakia supports a progressive immigration policy based on a comprehensive approach to mounting migration pressures and supports resettlement on a voluntary basis based on the means and capacities of EU countries. "We have solidarity concerning all EU problems. Just because this migration doesn't affect us as it does the southern countries, it doesn't change anything," assured Lajčák adding that what makes the situation even more sad is that it's a business from which smugglers and human traffickers profit, as the migrants pay €1,000-2,000 for the journey to Europe on old and overcrowded ships. "One of the EU priorities is to stop this dirty business," added Lajčák, saying that the top priority is to avoid the deaths of innocent people. Europe should also focus on solving roots of these problems, to demotivate people from coming to Europe.
