Sutaj Estok before Brussels Meeting: Slovakia Rejects EU Migration Pact

Bratislava, 7 December (TASR) - I'm due to travel to Brussels on Monday (8 December) for a meeting of interior ministers, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) stated in a video posted on a social network on Sunday, adding that he's leaving with Slovakia's sovereign position that the country rejects the EU Migration Pact. "We reject illegal migration, we reject mandatory relocation, we advocate border protection, and we insist on the sovereign right to decide who'll live on our territory," said Sutaj Estok. The minister emphasised that Slovakia wants a safe and functioning Europe. However, he considers it to be absurd for European leaders to dictate who Slovakia should accept. "I refuse to accept people we know nothing about, who don't recognise our traditions and values, and who may pose a security risk to Slovakia," said the minister. Sutaj Estok added that Slovakia is already more supportive than most EU member states. "We've accepted hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine, providing them with safety, health care, schools, benefits, and jobs. Every day, we receive dozens of new applications for temporary refuge. This is real solidarity, not artificially created mandatory mechanisms that Brussels wants to impose on us," he stressed. The EU Migration Pact is a set of binding rules for managing migration within the EU and creates a common asylum system. It was adopted in 2024, with Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary voting against it. am