Luxembourg, June 23 (CTK special correspondent) – The Czech Republic rejected the last proposed conclusions of the EU summit on migration and it still insists on the voluntary principle of accepting refugees, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek told reporters yesterday after the EU ministers’ meeting.
The proposal was also opposed by other countries, such as the remaining three Visegrad Four countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Portugal and Spain.
Zaoralek told reporters that on behalf of the Czech Republic, he had rejected the fourth article since its text was not in compliance with that adopted in April.
He hinted at the fact that the EU summit in April had talked about the voluntary acceptance of refugees.
Zaoralek said he supported the proposal that the EU must deal with the protection of its external border and build a mechanism of the refugees’ return. He called these points fundamental.
The final solution is up to the EU leaders who are to meet in Brussels in the other half of the week, he added.
According to the draft conclusions of this summit, which CTK has at its disposal, the decision on the redistribution of refugees could be postponed by the end of July.
The document for the meeting of the EU countries’ heads of state and government does not directly mention the obligatory distribution of immigrants based on quotas, which the European Commission (EC) proposed in May to solve a strong wave of illegal refugees from Asia and Africa who ended mainly in Italy and Greece.
The text of the respective point refers to the conclusions of the extraordinary summit on migration held in April. The leaders of the EU 28 announced then their goal to launch a pilot project of a voluntary redistribution of refugees within the EU.
Despite it, the EC proposed obligatory quotas for the spreading of some 40,000 refugees from Syrian and Eritrea a few weeks later.
Czech diplomats are of the view that the current proposal ignores the conclusion of the April summit and it might have negative consequences in a number of European countries.
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