EU to pursue migrant quotas again, but Czech Republic still considers them unacceptable
“Compulsory quotas are included in the draft and should be used in case of a real crisis,” a source familiar with the proposal’s preparation told the Czech News Agency.
Last week, Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta urged the European Commission to introduce a “compulsory redistribution mechanism.” Germany, which will assume the presidency of the European Council of the EU in July, has previously expressed support for such a solution.
On Monday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš reiterated that any migrant quotas are unacceptable to Czechia.
“The Czech Republic will continue to decide on its asylum policy. I have rejected the system of mandatory quotas before, and I will continue to do so, no matter what the European Commission will call it. I consider this matter closed, on the other hand, Europe must find an effective solution against illegal migration and break up smuggling gangs,” he told the Právo daily.
Babiš has been consistent about rejecting migrant quotas in the past.
“At the EU Court, we will use all options to defend our decision to reject migration quotas," he said last year. "Furthermore, we will coordinate our approach with the representatives of Poland and Hungary. We're not alone in this. The Czech Republic will never agree to mandatory migration quotas, at least as long as I am the prime minister. I promised that to my voters and I intend to keep my promise."
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jan Hamáček then also confirmed that he still refuses compulsory migrant quotas.
"I am against this idea and therefore I have initiated a joint letter of the interior ministers of the seven EU countries to the European Commission," he said, referring to a letter signed by the representatives of the Visegrád Four countries of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, who were joined by Estonia, Latvia, and Slovenia.
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