- Slovakia rejects mandatory solidarity in the redistribution of asylum seekers in the EU.
- Minister Šutaj Eštok criticized the non-classification of Slovakia among the countries with an exception.
- EU ministers approved legislation to speed up asylum procedures.
- The minister supports strengthening the protection of the EU’s external borders.
Slovak Minister of the Interior Matúš Šutaj Eštok after the meeting of the ministers of the member countries of the European Union on Monday in Brussels, he repeated that Slovakia rejects the mechanism of mandatory solidarity in the redistribution of asylum seekers. According to him, the country should have an exception considering the tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine that it accepted after the outbreak of the war, reports TASR.
According to the agreement, EU countries have in 2026 either accept a set number of migrants, pay a financial contribution for non-admitted persons or provide alternative support to the states most burdened by migration pressure. These countries include Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Italy.
Some states, for example The Czech Republic or Poland may be exempted from contributing for the coming year. Slovakia is not among these countries. “I pointed out to my colleagues that I did not understand why Slovakia was not included among the countries with a possible exception, since we accepted tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine. That is also why we could not support this part of the Pact on illegal migration,” said Šutaj Eštok.
How to proceed emphasized that Slovakia, along with Hungary, will not support any of the alternatives of solidarity, unless negotiations on an exception for the Slovak Republic are opened. He also stated that the government does not support the EU pact on migration and asylum as a whole, as it also follows from the program statement of the government.
At the same time, the ministers approved the position on the legislative proposals, which are supposed to speed up and make the asylum procedures and returns of applicants who are not entitled to protection in the EU more efficient. These are the safe third country and safe country of origin regulations. Šutaj Eštok welcomes this step. “Together with strong external border protection, this is one of the steps that should help fight illegal migration,” stated. At the same time, he expressed disappointment at the slow progress of the entire process.
