09.10.2015
President: Migration crisis is a problem of entire EU
The current migration crisis is a problem of the entire EU and not of a particular country, Polish President Andrzej Duda said after the end of the Visegrad Group two-day summit in Balatonfuered, Hungary, on Friday.
During a press conference with Presidents of Slovakia Andrej Kiska, the Czech Republic Milos Zeman and Hungary Janos Ader, and President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, President Duda stressed that at the moment the EU did not have an effective migration policy and should work it out, with special emphasis on border protection.
"Effective European migration policy is what is needed today but what in my opinion does not exist and has to be worked out," Andrzej Duda said, adding that migration was one of the main topics of the meeting.
"Admission quotas and administrative decisions regarding the number of refugees that has to be admitted are not effective and European countries, especially in this part of Europe, do not accept them," Andrzej Duda said.
The Polish president stressed that migrants were not a problem of a particular country, for instance, Croatia, Hungary, Greece or Italy, but of the EU as a whole.
"Protection of the EU borders is our common European problem. Not only of the Schengen zone," Duda said, adding that good cooperation in this field was very important.
According to Andrzej Duda, good protection of the EU external borders was an element of an effective European migration policy. "And humanitarian operations and assistance were another one. It is necessary to support countries with refugee camps from which migrants come to Europe," President Duda added.
Speaking about Nord Stream2, the Polish president said it was an economically doubtful investment but with a politically important dimension.
According to Duda, the new pipeline "above all has a political dimension, even a geopolitical one, and should be seen in this way". The president said that "as such it may pose a threat to security of Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland and many other European countries".
The Polish president stressed the role of sovereignty, both of a given state and of the entire EU, and also of energy sovereignty.
"Sovereignty is the strongest when one uses one's own potential. Respective EU countries should have the right to make use of their raw materials, including coal," the Polish president stressed, adding that coal serving as fuel should be an impulse to invest in modern technologies in order to protect climate.
"Innovative economy and science development are an important and good investment," the Polish president concluded.
Source: PAP; president.pl