The leaders of Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia expressed concern that current European solutions to irregular migration are inadequate and called for greater regional cooperation to tackle the problem more effectively at a meeting in Komárno on Tuesday.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić acknowledged that irregular migration to Europe is “a serious problem, fuelled by geopolitical instability, growing conflicts and social inequalities in Europe’s immediate neighbourhood, and exacerbated by pull factors within the EU”.
“The EU does not need redistribution of migrants or mandatory quotas, but measures in cooperation with countries that want to jointly protect their external borders,” Fico said during a meeting at the Slovak-Hungarian borders.
Fico also welcomed Orbán’s proposal to continue talks in this trilateral format, noting that attempts to dissolve the Visegrad Four alliance were ongoing, which he was determined to prevent.
“I believe that Serbia will become a member of the EU and will become a participant in this regional cooperation,” Fico added.
Joint statement
In their joint statement, the three leaders also argued that “the solutions recently adopted at European level do not appear to be effective or sustainable, and should therefore be complemented by further strengthening the regional dimension of cooperation in combating illegal migration”.
Fico, Orbán and Vučić warned that the migration route of the Western Balkans bears a disproportionate burden in terms of irregular migration.
They underlined the importance of protecting the Schengen area and that it must include regional measures to alleviate pressure on external borders, supporting border management and returns without disrupting the free movement of people and goods in Europe and the Western Balkans.
During a meeting, Orbán bluntly suggested that the EU migration pact “should be thrown away” and new rules should be created.
Just this year, Hungary quietly eased restrictions on work visas for Russian and Belarusian citizens, raising serious concerns within the EU that Budapest could be exposing the Schengen area to potential espionage and security risks.
The three leaders also stressed that a comprehensive approach to migration and asylum includes “addressing the external dimension of migration policy by active coordination at intergovernmental level and exploring the use of innovative solutions”.
They committed to further deepening the trilateral partnership in the fight against irregular migration and reaffirmed their support for Serbia’s EU accession.
(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)
Source: euractiv.com
