Slovakia rejects refugee quotas

Slovakia hopes it is possible to agree on a common approach with other Central European countries towards the refugee crisis affecting Europe, which would entail rejecting any quotas for the redistribution of refugees, stated the country's Prime Minister Robert Fico on Monday, reports the Patria News Agency.

Fico confirmed that he is meeting with the Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland on Friday or Sunday in Prague to discuss this crisis, as the number of deaths among refugees at sea and on land continues to rise.

Hungary, which is in Schengen, has become a magnet for tens of thousands of refugees from the Middle East and other war- and poverty-stricken areas who are trying to reach Western Europe via the Balkans.

Central European countries have rejected Brussels' proposals on mandatory quotas regarding the influx of asylum seekers arriving in Greece and Italy via the Mediterranean. French President Francois Hollande described their approach as "scandalous," but Fico is determined not to accept quotas.

"We strongly reject any quotas (...) if a mechanism for the automatic redistribution of refugees is adopted, then one day we will wake up and have 100,000 people from the Arab world, and that is a problem that I would not want Slovakia to have," said Fico.

He expressed readiness for his country to do what is necessary within its capabilities for people who truly need help and to separate them from economic migrants. Fico believes that Europe should focus on resolving the causes of the refugee crisis and stated that it is necessary to "stop destabilizing Syria," writes Index.