Slovakia won't support the newest proposal sponsored by the European Commission (EC) which obligates countries refusing the resettlement of migrants to pay financial compensation, stated Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer-SD). This was in reaction to an announcement on Wednesday which outlined the European Commission's intent to impose fines of €250,000 per migrant to countries which refused to shelter such individuals, with collected funds to be distributed to those countries which are participating in the scheme. Interior Minister Kaliňák called the motion a backward step which doesn't reflect reality. Furthermore, it is tabled at a time when the migration flow across the western Balkans has been stopped and an agreement with Turkey concluded.

Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák (Smer-SD nominee) fails to understand the European Commission's proposal, seeing as the EU has embraced the stance that the migration is not only about quotas but rather the tackling of its underlying causes. However, Lajčák said that he wouldn't like to blow the situation out of proportion because it's only a proposal at this stage. Lajčák concurs that the debate on migration has taken a backward twist, as the latest talks among European interior ministers were headed towards tackling those issues on which consensus exists. "To quantify the value of a migrant in monetary terms goes too far in terms of ethics and other things I don't even want to name. Really, I'm having a trouble understanding all this", stated the Foreign Minister.

While the coalition parties Smer-SD, Slovak National Party and Most-Hid disagree with the EC proposal, a number of Opposition MPs have taken the same stance, calling the decision stupid and outrageous. Freedom and Solidarity leader and MEP Richard Sulik harbours the conviction that imposing fines on EU members over the fact that they respect the will of their own people represents an egregious violation of any cohabitation and rules in general.

Katarína Urban Richterová, Photo: TASR