While the Eastern European wing, such as Slovakia and Hungary, does
not agree with the reform and the new liberal government in Poland says
it opposes the measure in principle (even though its MEPs voted in
favor), the Western and Southern states, such as Germany, Italy, and
Greece, welcome the pact.
The results of Wednesday’s vote in the European Parliament also
raised the debate about how important EU member states’ veto is in key
issues of promoting national-state interests.
In the Czech Republic, opinions on the adoption of the package differ
both among politicians and MEPs. While the Minister of the Interior and
head of the STAN movement Vít Rakušan welcomed the result, the founder
of the strongest opposition movement ANO Andrej Babiš criticized the
decision and wants to call an extraordinary meeting of the Czech
Parliament’s lower house.
The approved package includes several measures designed to combat
illegal immigration, including more effective background checks on
migrants and a more efficient returns process for unsuccessful asylum
seekers.
However, the controversial solidarity principle that will see member
states forced to accept migrants from overloaded countries or face
financial penalties, has caused outrage among some member states who
consider the move to be yet another power grab by Brussels.
Slovakia has voiced its concern over the migration pact’s ability to
be a long-term sustainable solution, with its foreign ministry leading
the charge in a damning statement following the pact’s adoption in the
European Parliament.
“Slovakia does not agree to the principle of solidarity with the
condition of the mandatory acceptance of illegal migrants on its
territory,” it wrote. “According to the head of Slovak diplomacy, states
should decide for themselves what form of aid they choose, without an
order for a mandatory or material contribution.”
“Illegal migration is a huge challenge facing the EU, and it is our
duty to solve it primarily in accordance with the sovereign interests of
our homeland,” added Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár. “It must be openly
admitted that the protection of the Schengen Area against illegal
migration is not sufficient and the new migration pact will not solve
this problem.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was more blunt, describing the
pact’s adoption as “another nail in the European coffin” and insisting
that “unity is dead” within the Union.
🇭🇺🇪🇺‼️ Hungary’s @PM_ViktorOrban has lashed out at Brussels following the adoption of the controversial EU Migration Pact by the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Budapest has vowed not to play ball and called on the electorate to vote for change in June’s EU elections. pic.twitter.com/HblDaPgKWh
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) April 11, 2024
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk further confused his country after
left-leaning MEPs supported the pact’s adoption on Wednesday evening,
assuring Poles that the solidarity principle of accepting migrants or
paying a fine would not apply to Poland.
He provided no further explanation for how Warsaw intends to exempt itself from the key mechanism within the legislation.
Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan praised its passing, describing
it as “good news for all those who do not consider the current situation
in the field of migration to be satisfactory.
“The migration pact will enable more effective protection of the EU’s
external borders and faster expulsions. At the same time, it will not
oblige any member country to accept migrants on its territory,” he
added, omitting that member states would need to pay €20,000 per migrant
they refuse.
The Czech opposition was more scathing of the legislation, with
former Czech prime minister and leader of the ANO movement Andrej Babiš
accusing liberals who voted it through of supporting hidden refugee
quotas.
“The pact was prepared and negotiated by Rakušan and Prime Minister
Fiala as part of their crazy EU presidency,” he said. “Illegal migration
threatens the security of the whole of Europe, threatens our values,
and threatens the way we live,” Babiš added, reiterating his belief
that the pact would not solve the ongoing migration crisis.
Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský of the socially conservative KDU-ČSL
insisted the agreement on migration was “not ambitious enough and does
not effectively solve the problem of illegal migration to the EU.”
He called on the new European Parliament following the EU elections in June to “reopen and reevaluate some parts” of the pact.
A review of the legislation is a strong possibility with the expected
rise in Eurosceptic parties filling the European Parliament this
summer.
Prominent French conservatives including Marine Le Pen and Jordan
Bardella, both leaders within the National Rally predicted to win big in
the upcoming vote, vowed to bring the pact down after the summer, with
the former telling her X followers, “We will put an end to the
accelerated pursuit of policies to encourage and organize mass
immigration.”
Source: Remix News
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Author: Planet Today
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