Video: https://youtu.be/Gs9BOUjqLss
The paper prepared by President Tusk is unacceptable.
It is anti-European and it denies, it ignores all the work done during the past 3 years.
And we have done this work together.
The role of the President of the European Council is to defend the European unity and principles.
This paper is undermining one of the main pillars of the European project. The principle of solidarity.
Europe without solidarity cannot exist. This principle is enshrined in the text of our founding treaties. Our success in managing migration cannot be attributed to individual Member States.
These are European successes that are the results of our joint actions, of our joint efforts of the EU institutions, its agencies and all Member States.
Moreover, we should not oppose the protection of our external borders and our duty to protect refugees. It is a duty, moral and legal duty, to protect refugees.
We are not building -and it will never happen- a fortress Europe.
So, I firmly disagree with the statement that relocation as an emergency response has been ‘ineffective’.
Over 32,000 people have been relocated so far – this is over 90% of all those eligible.
Solidarity, I repeat what I have said many times before, CANNOT be cherry-picked.
There is no solidarity à la carte.
I am glad that the European Commission’s contribution to the Leader’s meeting adopted last week was well received by all Member States.
Member States acknowledge the role of the EU, the Commission and its agencies
and the positive results of the comprehensive migration policy implemented by the EU over the past 3 years.
We have to forge our unity, to stick together not to fuel anti-European positions.