As Europe grapples with how to handle an unprecedented wave of migrants trying to cross its borders illegally, many of them fleeing brutal conflict in Syria, Slovakia has announced that it only wants to take in Christians.
Slovakian Interior Ministry spokesman Ivan Netik told CNN his country’s approach wasn’t down to discrimination, but rather practical concerns around integration and the likely desire of migrants to want to stay in Slovakia long term.
Slovakia has only a tiny Muslim community, he said, and there are no mosques — making it hard for Muslim migrants to integrate, Netik said.
“That’s the reason we want to mostly choose people, who really want to start a new life in Slovakia,” he said. “And Slovakia as a Christian country can really help Christians from Syria to find a new home in Slovakia.”
EU member states agreed last month to take in more than 32,000 migrants to ease the burden on Italy and Greece, where by far the largest numbers have arrived. Another 8,000 should be allocated by the end of the year, EU commissioner for migration Dimitris Avramopoulos said.
Most migrants who reach Europe are from Syria, Afghanistan and African nations, fleeing conflict or poverty.
But Slovakia has made clear it is opposed to the idea of EU quotas on migrants.
“It’s nothing against religion, it’s not about discrimination, but it will be very false and insincere solidarity if we take now more than 1,000 people to Slovakia who don’t want to live in Slovakia,” Netik said.
“You can’t force somebody to live somewhere. Most of them will leave in (a) few days to Germany, Great Britain or Scandinavian countries. It’s not a solution, it’s not help.”
However, if Muslims do decide to come to Slovakia and apply for asylum, they will enter into the normal process, he added.
Germany expects 800,000 asylum seekers
At the same time, the German government said it expects up to 800,000 asylum seekers to come to Germany this year — four times as many as in 2014.
The revised forecast was published Wednesday by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere.
The government had already registered 218,000 applications by the end of July and there is no sign of the trend easing, his statement said.
Past experience shows that arrivals tend to be higher in the second half of the year. In addition, there’s been a significant increase in migration through the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, leading to a dramatic escalation of the situation in Greece, it said.
Meanwhile, ministers from France and Britain met in the French port town of Calais on Thursday to mark the signing of a new deal aimed at stemming the flow of migrants attempting to reach the United Kingdom illegally.
A rise in attempts has caused disruption to Channel Tunnel freight and passenger services and resulted in the death of a number of migrants.
“About 320,000 migrants crossed the EU external borders since early 2015,” said French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
“This involves, here in Calais, a strong migratory pressure which causes firstly humanitarian problems. There are human tragedies we have to face involving people, women and children, in vulnerable situations but also migrants who die.”
Slovakia: Tackle root causes
Netik warned that taking in migrants doesn’t help with the root causes of migration — and that if the wave of new arrivals doesn’t stop, Europe could end up receiving millions.
Slovakia has been helping with the “humanitarian transfer” of migrants to other countries since 2008, he added. This has meant bringing Syrian mothers and children from refugee camps in Turkey, for example, and giving them food, health care, accommodation and schooling before sending them on six months later to their final destination, often the United States.
This number will be increased this year from about 300 to 500, he said.
Slovakia has also offered to house 500 people going through the asylum application process in Austria, starting from September, Netik said. They will be transferred from an asylum center in Gab?ikovo back to Austria when the process is completed.
Many of the migrants seeking to reach European soil have embarked on perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey or North Africa, often in barely seaworthy boats operated by human traffickers.
The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said Tuesday that the total number of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean this year stood at some 264,500, including 158,456 to Greece, about 104,000 to Italy, 1,953 to Spain and 94 to Malta.