Poland, Warsaw – On Friday 26 of August German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined the representatives of Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Slovakia in Warsaw to prepare the informal summit of 27 EU members in Bratislava set up by Slovakia on September 16, set to discuss about Brexit, common issues such as security and economy, and the future of the European Union.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was welcomed by the V4 leaders, Poland’s Beata Szydło, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Czechia’s Bohuslav Sobotka and Slovakia’s Robert Fico. They all criticize openly her migrant policy. Merkel declared that EU needed to find “ways to fight against breaking the law, but also do something for those in need” on the issue of migrants, as the members of the Visegrád group refuse to accept the EU system of migrant quotas. On the same day Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said that this quota scheme was “forced relocation”, and that “not everybody in Europe can afford the policy suggested by Germany”.
Whereas Merkel wants to “continue to discuss” the issue of migrant quotas, trying to convince the V4 to accept it, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán criticized the “bureaucrats in Brussels” on the radio, refusing to let them impose their law on countries that can’t afford it. He added that the fence at the border would be reinforced, also to prevent the eventual move of millions of migrants from Turkey toward Western Europe in October, as the EU has set October 2016 as the target date for visa exemption for Turkish citizens – which is not going to happen according to Orbán. Turkey openly threatened the EU to open the floodgates to immigration if she doesn’t obtain what she wants. “The question is, which side will Angela Merkel take?”, Orbán added.
