Poland, Warsaw – On Thursday, Prime Ministers of the Visegrád Group countries discussed in Warsaw about European Union. They said there is a need of reforms that would give more power to national parliaments, guarantee respect for European freedoms and ensure security under the pressure of a wave of migrants.
“We are at a dramatic point. Because of Britain’s leaving, the EU is losing its global role and is becoming a regional player. In Bratislava we need to think how to regain that global role.” said Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The Ministers also planned the informal EU summit in Bratislava in September.
They said that EU policy, especially on accepting migrants, provoked the Brexit. They agreed that Britain should remain a close partner of the EU. The Visegrád group see a need for a new European treaty, that would give more autonomy to the EU member states, even if Western countries don’t think the same. EU as it is at present “does not meet the expectations of the Europeans,” Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło said, “the EU must go back to its roots and concentrate on the rights of its citizens and less on its institutions.” Member nations should be given more control over the decision-making processes in the EU, particularly when it means new obligations for members, as it was the case last year when expecting them to accept pre-set numbers of migrants, Beata Szydło said.
The V4 don’t participate to the EU program of accepting migrants, but some of them, like Hungary, were overwhelmed last year by migrants. Viktor Orbán criticized EU’s policy on migrants and appealed for help in protecting overall EU borders as well as those of his nation, linking the issue of illegal migrants to a general lack of security.
“We don’t want to give up our sovereignty, we don’t want to give up the defense of our borders, we don’t want to give up the right to decide who we want to live with in Hungary,” Orban said.
