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1st LD Writethru: Slovakia to file lawsuit over EU's migrant quotas: PM

Xinhua, September 24, 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.

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.

Fico said government agent representing Slovakia before EU courts Beatrix Ricziova was tasked at the Cabinet session with drafting a complaint in cooperation with the Interior Ministry and Justice Ministry within the given deadline.

"This initiative quotas should have been approved at the level of prime ministers and presidents because it's anything but a technicality. This is an issue which resonates across the whole of Europe," said Fico.

Fico's stance was echoed by Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak.

"We have been saying consistently that this is not the way to go. We're aware of the seriousness of the problem and the need to address it. We've proposed different solutions, but have seen quotas forced upon us instead. We'll use all legal options at our disposal to challenge the decision, while promoting solutions we consider to be right," stressed Lajcak.

Ricziova told the media that any EU member state has a right to challenge a legal act of the union, if it is convinced that the legislation violates its own rights.

Under the Article No. 263 of the Agreement on the Functioning of EU, the states can file the complaints with the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Endit