Fico: Even God Doesn't Know What Would Happen If Britain Leaves EU
Prague, June 8 (TASR-correspondent) – Both a ‘remain’ or ‘leave’ result in the upcoming Brexit will cause the EU headaches for several months, said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) after a meeting with his Czech counterpart in Prague on Wednesday.
Fico who is on his first official visit to the Czech Republic – which had to be postponed due to his heart operation in April – said: “If the British stay, we’ll have to immediately implement an agreement between Great Britain and the EU. If they leave, even God doesn’t know what will happen as we don’t know the procedures,” said Fico, adding that all this may well be happening during Slovakia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Union will also be influenced by the outcome of the European Summit set at the end of the month, at which time the European Commission’s (EC) proposal to reform the Dublin Regulation protocol on collective responsibility for accepting migrants is expected to be discussed. It features a new system of migrant resettlement and sanctions for those countries that give a thumbs down to the quotas.
“We’re not hiding the fact that we have a problem with the quotas, therefore the next five-six months might also be influenced by it,” said Fico. He added that he’s a realist and even though Slovakia has its visions for the presidency, it remains modest. “It’d be a joke if I said that small but proud Slovakia wants to change the whole EU,” he said.
However, one of his personal aims is to bring the EU agenda and the way it is presented closer to people. “Even I often don’t understand the language we use during official discussions,” said Fico (a lawyer and former judge before entering politics), adding that he often needs experts for explanations.
Moreover, Slovakia wants to concentrate on the strengthening of the EU economy, support for investment policies and new forms of a unified market during the presidency.
