Danko: Protecting External Border and Free Movement in EU Top Priorities

Tallinn/Bratislava, April 23 (TASR-correspondent) – Protecting the EU’s external border and free movement within the Union is our clear and absolute priority, as these are achievements that unite Europe and without which the EU project is condemned to failure, stated Parliamentary chair Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party/SNS) at a conference of heads of Parliaments of EU-member states in Tallinn, Estonia, on Monday.

“We’re aware of the pressure that the countries in the Mediterranean are facing at the moment. However, looking at the composition of migratory flows heading to Italy or Greece, it’s necessary to say openly that the vast majority of them are economic migrants,” said the head of Slovak Parliament in his speech, adding that the EU-member states should primarily focus on issues that unite them, including security, the protection of external borders, reducing migratory flows and joint defence.

Danko further reiterated that he views the European Union as a unique project that should serve the people and not the European institutions. “That is why we need to think about what powers should be entrusted to the Brussels administration and which should remain exclusively to the nation states,” he said.

Regarding the upcoming European Parliament election in 2019, Danko pointed out that this area needs to be strengthened to achieve much higher turnout than in previous EU elections.

Danko also said that he can see the rise of radicalism and anti-system parties that are spreading chaos. “There is a strong negative attitude [within society] and many people see the situation only through a black and white lens. People have stopped communicating face-to-face and have begun to trust the Internet and social networks that are publishing a lot of sensational and fake news without any responsibility,” he added.