After talks on Monday between Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, all of whom oppose quotas, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek insisted the four were still “absolutely dedicated” to finding a solution.
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“Very soon we will find that the emperor is naked”.
Indeed, more than 6,000 people could arrive in Greece alone on Tuesday when interior ministers meet in Brussels and on Wednesday, while European Union leaders hold a summit to discuss medium and long-term policy plans.
With populist parties exploiting anti-immigrant sentiment, many eastern states argued that a Europe-wide relocation plan made little sense for refugees who preferred to settle in wealthier northern and western European nations.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn, who chaired the talks since his country now held the EU’s rotating presidency, said Tuesday will be an important day in Brussels.
Hungary, which takes one of the strongest lines on the issue, has said European borders are under threat.
The most crucial issue at stake will be whether politicians can resolve disagreements over a plan to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers from Italy, Greece and Hungary.
“We hear a lot about “solidarity” in the EU“.
The number of people thought to have fled conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa to seek sanctuary in the European Union so far this year. Almost 40% of them were Syrians.
“We have no choice but to leave”.
“Hundreds of thousands of refugees have arrived in Europe since the beginning of the year“, said Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister.
Others, including British Prime Minister David Cameron have warned against allowing mass numbers of refugees into Europe, arguing that such an action would only encourage more people to make the unsafe voyage to Europe and wouldn’t help in solving the root of the crisis.
The split in views has deepened over the past few weeks as tens of thousands of people continue to cross over the EU’s external borders in the hopes of reaching states like Germany and Sweden.
Budapest has taken the toughest stance on the crisis, erecting razor-wire barriers along its borders with Serbia and Croatia in a bid to keep migrants out, and broadening the military’s powers.
On Monday, lawmakers voted to give troops at Hungary’s borders the right to use rubber bullets, tear gas and net guns-devices that fire netting to entangle the target-in a non-lethal way “unless it can not be avoided”.
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But Greece, whose debt crisis threatened to tear apart the euro zone just months ago, is likely to face pressure at the emergency summit to accept more help in managing its borders, which could raise concerns in Athens over national sovereignty.
