Slovakia Refuses to Accept Muslim Migrants under EU's Relocation Plan

Slovakia has said that it will only accept Christian refugees once it starts taking in its quota of 200 migrants from the Middle East under a relocation programme recently adopted by the EU.

According to Slovakia’s Interior Ministry spokesman Ivan Metik the government’s approach wasn't down to discrimination, but rather practical concerns around integration, CNN reported.

Muslims migrants will find it hard to integrate in Slovakia which has a very small Muslim population and no mosques, according to Metik.

"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."

Under EU law member states are banned from any form of discrimination in accepting refugees. Slovakia is due to receive 200 people from camps in Turkey, Italy and Greece under the EU's plan to resettle new arrivals.

Last month, EU member states agreed to take in 32,000 asylum seekers arriving in Italy and Greece over the next two years, most of whom are Syrians, Afghans, and sub-Saharan Africans. The scheme was made voluntary after some nations - including Slovakia - refused to accept set quotas, the BBC recalled in its coverage of the news.

Bulgaria will receive 500 refugees currently residing in other countries over the next two years, the country's Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova said last month.

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