EU mandatory migrant quotas not good solution: Croatian president

Mandatory quotas for resettlement of migrants are not a good solution because they fail to address the cause of migration that Europe will still face for long years to come, said Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic here on Wednesday.

"It's necessary to arrive at a joint European approach because partial solutions are nothing but a dead-end," stressed the Croatian President after meeting her Slovak counterpart Andrej Kiska in Bratislava.

Grabar-Kitarovic said it's up to sovereign decision of EU member states whether to approve or reject mandatory quotas, based on their consideration of whether they have the capacity to realise the quotas in practice.

The Croatian president said that the EU will have to deal with an enormous influx of people, a significant portion of which is made by economic migrants.

She pointed out that even with the most generous of intentions in mind, the EU still doesn't have capacity to accept millions of migrants from the whole world interested to come to Europe.

According to Kiska, the discussion on the issue in Slovakia has been distorted significantly by the upcoming general election.

"If it weren't for the March election, the debate and individual policies would have gone in a different direction," said Kiska.

As for the lawsuit against the mandatory quotas filed by Slovakia, Kiska believes that if the Slovak government is convinced it possesses relevant arguments against the quotas, it has the right to resort to legal action. On the other hand, it's necessary to show solidarity and make sure that the migration crisis won't lead to divisiveness within the EU. Endit