At their meeting in Komarno on Tuesday, Slovak Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD), Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban agreed on the need to fight against irregular migration jointly, stating that the countries situated on the Western Balkans migration route bear a disproportionately big burden when it comes to addressing problems related to irregular migration, reads the joint statement released by the three leaders following their talks.
The leaders of Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia have agreed that irregular migration is a serious problem that results from geopolitical instability, conflicts and social inequality in the European neighbourhood. They stressed that irregular migration is a challenge especially for countries on the Western Balkans migration route, which "bear a disproportionate share of the burden in dealing with irregular migration and suppressing human trafficking, as well as other activities related to organised crime."
Fico, Orban and Vucic highlighted the role of the Schengen zone, opining that its protection should be accompanied by regional compensatory measures that will ease the pressure on the EU's external borders.
In the statement, the leaders stated that the solutions adopted at the EU level don't seem to be sufficient and sustainable and should be supplemented in particular by further strengthening the regional dimension of cooperation in the fight against irregular migration. According to them, the situation on the Western Balkan route has improved significantly in recent months, mainly thanks to the measures taken by the governments of Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia.
According to Slovak PM Fico the EU doesn't need to redistribute migrants or impose mandatory quotas, but introduce measures in cooperation with countries that want to jointly protect the Union's external borders.
"We were right when we said very clearly at the beginning of the big migration crisis that the basis for fighting irregular migration is protecting the EU's external borders. The Union does not need to redistribute migrants or impose mandatory quotas, but introduce measures in cooperation with countries that want to jointly protect their external borders," said Fico.
The Slovak Prime Minister thanked Vucic for Serbian measures that have significantly helped Europe to tackle migration problems and expressed support for Serbia in its efforts to join the EU as soon as possible. "I cannot imagine that any country would join the EU before Serbia," he stated.
Fico also praised Orban's proposal to continue the negotiations in this format further, noting that the developments in the war in Ukraine are also an important topic for all the participants in the Komarno meeting.
The partners also reiterated their support for Serbia's EU membership and highlighted mutual cooperation. They described the EU enlargement as a "geostrategic investment", which, however, "requires more active involvement of the EU in the Western Balkans region, including in the fight against irregular migration".
The leaders of Slovakia, Serbia and Hungary arrived in Komarno to discuss irregular migration and innovative solutions in the fight against it. The foreign affairs ministers of the individual countries formed a part of the delegations as well.
Source: TASR
