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Slovakia may hold referendum to reject EC's migrant quotas

Xinhua, June 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Visegrad Four (V4) countries could block mandatory migrant quotas at a meeting of the European Union, announced Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Parliament on Tuesday.

He said if the European Commission (EC) enforces the quotas regardless, the Slovak government will consider a referendum on the subject.

Fico added that he's spoken with representatives from another three of the V4, composed of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, to agree on a procedure.

"The aim is to achieve a joint V4 declaration, based on which we'd reject mandatory quotas. The V4's text could block the text that deals with the mandatory quotas," stressed Fico.

He said that it's questionable whether the countries opposing the quotas are able to create a so-called blocking minority that would prevent the quotas from becoming binding for all EU countries.

If the EC pushes through the quotas despite objections, Fico will consider the possibility of a referendum.

"It may be a way of avoiding the consequences of an EC decision on which the Slovak Government simply can't agree," he claimed.

Fico pointed out that Slovakia is committed to the principle of solidarity, but not by automatically accepting refugees. Slovakia is prepared to provide support to the European countries affected most by migration. Endit