Central European leaders underline opposition to migrant quotas

Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland are voicing their opposition to any EU quota system for accepting migrants. The prime ministers of the so-called Visegrad countries have been discussing the current crisis at a summit in Prague. They are standing shoulder-to-shoulder in their response. “We support solidarity, we show solidarity, we are ready to participate in a spirit of solidarity on a voluntary basis, but we refuse a quota system that would introduce any kind of obligatory mechanism or measures,” said Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, following the summit. Hungary’s right-wing government is one of the most vocal in opposing large-scale immigration in the EU. The country has emerged as the primary entry point for people heading across the Balkans. Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said the four countries were ready to increase their commitment in assistance to countries facing the heaviest influx of migrants – and step up the fight against trafficking and the ISIL militant group, which has occupied swathes of Syria. His Polish counterpart told reporters that countries should take their own sovereign decisions in responding to the migrant crisis. Another message coming out of the summit was that more needs to be done to tackle the causes, rather than just treating the symptoms. The full text of the Joint Statement of the Heads of the #V4 http://t.co/zkJqjCLuuT … … #CZV4PRES pic.twitter.com/5igTvVTBkd— Tomas Prouza (@CZSecStateEU) September 4, 2015