The Strategist

Migrants Crisis Makes Eastern Europe Boil Over



09/24/2015 - 15:59



The authorities of the Eastern Europe countries have expressed their protest against the EU's plans to migrants accommodation. The Hungarian, Czech Republic and Slovakia authorities have declared that they will not tolerate the "diktat" of Brussels on the issue of immigration quotas.



Mstyslav Chernov
Mstyslav Chernov
Wednesday, September 23, the leaders of Eastern European states have sharply criticized the plan for immigration quotas and resettlement of migrants in different countries in accordance with them. This was reported by FT. Hungarian Prime Minister has accused Germany of imposing their decisions to other European countries and the "moral imperialism":

- Such moral imperialism has no place in Europe. Germany should take decisions for itself and not impose its will on other countries. Hungary has his own head on his shoulders, we have our own history. Hungary cannot reason the same way as Germany.


Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he will "break the rules rather than tolerate diktat", and will coordinate his efforts with other opponents of the migration plan, in order to achieve a "serious discussion" of the current issues in Brussels:

- I would rather make the decision to break the rules than accept such a dictate. We cannot avoid this conflict, because we continue to believe that the announced quotas are meaningless.


Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said he would try to derail approval of the plan. According to him, the decision to impose quotas is a populist move for the people of those countries the most popular among the migrants:

- Quotas are not going to work, and they are not going help us fix the real causes of the migration crisis. It's just a soothing action for the population of those countries that found themselves at the center of the current migration flows.


September 22, The Minister of Internal Affairs of the EU approved the plan for mandatory quotas for the reception of refugees in various countries of the EU. The Ministers of Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic made a stand against the adoption of the plan. Representatives of Finland took a neutral position to abstain. Among Eastern European countries, Poland supported the adoption of the quotas. The Interior Ministry of the Czech Republic declared that Poland thereby betrayed the interests of the countries of Eastern Europe.

Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, said in his letter to the European Prime Minister that the leaders must confront the "brutal reality", related to the situation on the borders of countries such as Greece.

Tusk said that a number of countries closed the borders and imposed border controls within the Schengen zone, warning that "we, Europeans, currently cannot control our common external borders."

In exchange for greater control over the borders of the EU, Brussels will provide additional financial assistance to Greece, European officials say.

Chaos in the Greek islands of Lesvos and Kos means that the Greek authorities improperly register most arrivals - regardless of whether they are economic migrants or refugees fleeing from war, say the European officials.

Countries now have softened a plan for the distribution of quota of 120 thousand workers.

The rough draft makes no mention of distribution, supposed to determine how many immigrants each country must host. The basis of this allocation may be factors such as GDP, unemployment and the number of refugees, which the country has already adopted.

The European Commission has expressed the hope that the plan would make a basis for a permanent allocation schemes.

The original plan, which involves the movement of 54 thousand workers from Hungary to other countries, was also raveled by the refusal of Budapest to take part in this scheme.

source: ft.com