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R. Fico: The EU doesn’t need migrant redistribution, but border protection

by AI | 25.Oct 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The Slovak Prime Minister thanked Vučić for the measures that significantly helped Europe address migration issues and expressed support for Serbia’s efforts to join the EU as soon as possible. “I can’t imagine any country overtaking Serbia in joining the Union,” he noted.

In the picture from left: President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán during a press conference after the summit of leaders of the Slovak Republic, Serbia and Hungary on illegal migration in Komárno on October 22, 2024. PHOTO TASR - Jaroslav Novák

Komárno – The European Union does not need the redistribution of migrants or mandatory quotas, but measures in cooperation with countries that want to jointly protect the Union’s external borders. This was stated on Tuesday in Komárno by the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico, after a meeting with the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučič, and the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán. This was reported by the TASR correspondent.

“We were right when we very clearly stated at the beginning of the great migration crisis that the basis of the fight against illegal migration is the protection of the EU’s external borders. The Union does not need the redistribution of migrants or mandatory quotas, but measures in cooperation with countries that want to jointly protect the external borders,” said Fico.

The Slovak Prime Minister thanked Vučič for the measures that have significantly helped Europe deal with the issues of migration and expressed support for Serbia in its efforts to join the EU as soon as possible. “I cannot imagine that any country would overtake Serbia in joining the Union,” he noted.

The Slovak Prime Minister appreciated Orbán’s proposal to continue negotiations in this format further, noting that for all participants of the Komárno meeting, the development of the war in Ukraine is an important topic, among others.

According to him, there are repeated attempts to eliminate the Visegrád Group (V4). “We refuse to end in this format (V4), which has enormous significance. I believe that Serbia will become a member of the EU and become a participant in this regional cooperation,” added Fico.

Regarding the EU migration pact, Orbán said that it should be discarded, the current rules should be forgotten, and new ones created. According to him, Schengen, which is one of the most important achievements of the Union, is currently falling apart. He reminded that since 2015, eight million asylum applications have been submitted in the EU. 3.8 million people have attempted to cross the Union’s borders illegally, of which Hungary detained one million. “Western leaders are in a panic, from which bad decisions have arisen,” he emphasized.

Vučič called it a common success that there are 80 percent fewer migrants this year than last year. “There are currently 477 migrants in Serbian refugee camps. We will continue to work together with our European friends to reduce migration,” added the Serbian president.

The leaders of Slovakia, Serbia, and Hungary discussed in Komárno about illegal migration and innovative solutions to combat it. The delegation also included interior ministers of the individual states. (October 22)