Wednesday’s proposal of the European Commission to establish penalties for member states who refuse to accept their quota of asylum seekers, caused resentment among the interior ministers of the member states of Central Europe.
Hungarian Minister Peter Szijjarto, called this proposal a "blackmail".
"As regards the introduction of penalties imposed by the EC, it is a blackmail. The whole concept of quotas, is a "stalemate" and we are calling on the Commission "not to wander on a blind alley", Szijjarto emphasized.
Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, whose country strongly opposes the agreed quotas, said the timing of the new proposal is bad in light of the efforts to reach consensus to close the migration routes and to reach agreement on refugees in Turkey.
"During these sensitive talks, a proposal is set on the table which returns us ten months back and in some respects does not respect reality", Kalinak underlined.
Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that "the EC's proposal for a systemic distribution of asylum seekers makes no sense and violates the rights of the member states".