EU’s hailed migrant plan ‘a ROAD TO HELL’ Czech Republic REFUSES involvement
The CZECH Republic has refused to take any of the 450 migrants that Italy helped to rescue from an overcrowded migrant boat from the Mediterranean on Saturday, and branded Rome’s shared responsibility plan as “a road to hell”.
By JOE GAMP
Express.co.uk
Sun, Jul 15, 2018
The CZECH Republic has refused to take any of the 450 migrants that Italy rescued from an overcrowded migrant boat from the Mediterranean on Saturday, and branded Rome’s shared responsibility plan as “a road to hell”.
Italy refused to accept all 450 migrants to its shores after the rescue, in the EU’s first test of its new migrant policy, which sees members share the burden of migrant numbers.
The EU made the new policy last month after Italy’s new hardline government refused to accept charity migrant rescue boat Aquarius to dock in its ports. Nearby Malta also refused, and the stranded vessel was forced to make a four day journey to Valencia in Spain.
Although Germany, France and Malta all said they would take in 50 migrants each rescued from the Libyan ship, the Czech Republic – part of the notorious Visegrad Four rebellion group comprised of Eastern European member states – would not accept any of the 450 migrants.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis tweeted his country would not accept them, damning Rome’s contingency plan as a “road to hell”.
He tweeted: “I received a copy of the letter from Prime Minister Contes, together with the other EU premieres, to the President of the European Council, Tusk and the European Commission Juncker, where the Italian Prime Minister is asking the EU to take care of the 450 people currently on the seas. Such an approach is the road to hell.
It only motivates smugglers and increases their income. Our countries will not accept any migrants. At the European Council, we have applied the principle of volunteering for relocation, and we will stick to it.”
Continuing, he tweeted: “The only solution to the migration crisis is the Australian model, not to allow the landing of migrants in Europe and the return of the ships from which they emerge. We must send a clear signal that illegal migration has ended and that the European Union is ready to return illegal migrants immediately.
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