Poland, Hungary slam EU fine on refusing refugees
Poland and Hungary on Wednesday censured a plan by the European Union for the imposition of fines on member states if they refuse to accept pre-determined quotas of refugees.
Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called the EU scheme a form of blackmail, saying the bloc is obstinately going on a wrong path of imposing unwanted refugee quotas.
“It's blackmail, it's unacceptable and a non-European type of proposal from the (European) Commission,” Szijjarto said in Prague, adding, “The quota concept is a dead-end street and I would like to ask the Commission not to run into this dead-end street.”
The European Commission, EU’s powerful executive body, proposed earlier in the day that EU countries should be forced to pay a “solidarity contribution” of 250,000 (USD 290,000) euros per refugee they decline to take in despite their previous commitments.
Hungary has opposed since the very beginning an initiative for imposing quotas on members of the EU, saying that could seriously undermine its economy and security.
Poland's Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski also echoed similar concerns Wednesday, saying he has yet to really believe in the fines scheme.
“I'm still wondering if it's a serious proposal, because it sounds like an idea announced on April Fool's Day,” Waszczykowski said.
The fines were part of EU’s general plan for asylum policy overhaul as the continental body has managed to curb a once huge flow of refugees through a deal it reached with Turkey last month.
The European Commission on Wednesday gave its conditional support to visa-free travel to Europe for Turks as it was promised in the controversial deal.
Szijjarto reacted to the announcement, saying Turkey has yet to comply “with all the requirements” to be entitled to a full visa-free regime.
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