EU-member states differ in their views on the European Commission-proposed mandatory quotas for migrants according to which migrants would be resettled across the EU, said Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák after an EU Justice and Home Affairs Council session in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Kaliňák went on to stress that the session saw only political discussions, as the decisions are to be made by prime ministers and presidents at an EU summit late next week. He indicated, however, that the positions of the individual countries aren't uniform and that they differ from the viewpoint of obligatory and voluntary solidarity. "We believe that mandatory solidarity is immensely harmful. The acceptance of the quotas essentially equals the signing of a deal with people-smugglers on their bringing even more migrants in ... The number of lost human lives might even increase further. We can't pump water from a house that still leaks", said the Slovak minister.
The inflow of refugees first needs to be stopped, said Kaliňák, praising measures that the European Commission proposes beyond EU borders to mitigate migration. At the same time, he emphasised that assistance for migrants needs to be voluntary and said that Slovakia as well as other European countries opposing the quotas have made their contribution towards solidarity clear. Slovakia, for one, provides humanitarian transfers and is ready to up its contribution in this regard, said Kaliňák. Kaliňák wouldn't specify whether or not the opposition to the European Commission's proposal is sufficient to nix it, but he added that at any rate the council isn't in agreement on enforcing such a measure in the face of opposition from several countries.
