The EU countries, divided and agitated about taking in refugees, are said to decide on a new compromise which will help solve the problem. The Visegrad Group has its own project of flexible solidarity, which was presented at a the informal EU summit in Bratislava and attracted the interest of the EU leaders attending the meeting.
Last year the majority of the EU countries decided that the community would take in 160,000 refugees, and that the mechanism for the distribution of refugees between the EU member states would be obligatory. The countries not taking part would be fined 250,000 euros for every refugee refused entry.
This obligatory distribution mechanism was supported by the Western European countries with Germany and Italy at the front, supported by the European institutions. On the other side were the Central and Eastern European countries which were opposed.
V4 countries’ proposal of flexible solidarity
The Visegrad Group wanted to end the dispute. According to its project of flexible solidarity, a decision on taking in refugees would not be made under duress, but on a voluntary basis while considering the possibilities on the local labour markets.
Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary want solidarity to be measured not only by the number of accepted refugees, but also by other factors such as the protection of external borders of the EU and financial support for countries struggling with migratory pressure.
Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydło stressed in Bratislava that the EU needs a new plan because the previous plans to solve the migration crisis ended in failure. (audio in Polish)
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“In this moment we have to think how to change things. Everybody underlines that the best way to find a solution for the migrant crisis is outside the EU. We will do everything to provide humanitarian aid to those third countries,” Szydło said.
The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said that flexible forms of solidarity, or the voluntary acceptance of refugees or other services, but not as penalty, but as willingness to help, were initially considered. Tusk also added that so far there was no agreement, but talks would be continued. (audio in Polish)
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“After Bratislava, we will find an easier and wiser way for a compromise, where everyone will have their part and where no one will have the feeling that it was dictated by anyone,” Tusk said.
Change in position of Western Europe
The proposal by the Visegrad Group was positively welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (audio in German)
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“In the proposal made by the Visegrad Group, I can clearly see a first step for a constructive discussion. In my opinion, the attempt to find a solution for the problem is very positive. In the end, we all have to find a solution for this question. I’m looking forward to discuss the problem with those countries and see how they imagine the proposed elastic solidarity. We didn’t have today the chance to precise this proposal, but Europe is always ready for a compromise.”
For some time now it has been becoming clear that the approach in the EU is changing. The EU is moving towards the position of the Central and Eastern Europe. It can be also seen in the annual “State of the Union” speech given in the European Parliament by the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker recently.
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“When it comes to managing the refugee crisis, we have started to see solidarity. I’m convinced that more solidarity is needed, but I also know that solidarity must be voluntary, it must come from the heart, it cannot be forced. It cannot be imposed,” Juncker said.
It is a change of the position, because previously the president of the Commission put been putting pressure on all member states to accept the obligatory mechanism for distributing of refugees.
Also the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has changed his position. Also in Bratislava he admitted that the plan of the mandatory distribution of refugees was not working and such decisions cannot be imposed on member states.
It seems that Slovakia, which is currently running the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, will now present amendment to the initial proposals by the European Commission concerning the migration crisis as the Commission does not intend to withdraw its project completely.
- Authors: Beata Płomecka and Ewa Stankiewicz, Polskie Radio
