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Slovakia to file lawsuit over EU's migrant quotas: PM

Xinhua, September 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said Wednesday that Slovakia opposes quotas for reallocating refugees among European Union (EU) members and will file a lawsuit with the EU General Court in Luxembourg concerning the way in which the move was adopted.

"Slovakia will voluntarily undergo an EU infringement procedure, which is used against member states in such cases," Fico said after a government session in Bratislava.

According to Fico, Slovakia's resistance will have a "great added value." He explained that this will not only concern mandatory quotas, but also the further functioning of the EU.

"Also in this is the great added value of the lawsuit that we are about to file, the great added value of our resistance, as we can't afford for Europe to function on the principle of majority against minority. In that case we'd be finished," stressed Fico.

European Union (EU) ministers during an emergency meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Tuesday adopted "by larger majority" of member states a plan to relocate 120,000 migrants. EU ministers agreed earlier this month on a plan to relocate 40,000 refugees from Italy and Greece under a compulsory scheme. Following this decision, the EU is now in a position to relocate a total of 160,000 people in clear need of international protection in the coming two years. Endit