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EU to Weaken as Int'l Player if Some Countries Leave UN Migration Pact – Juncker

© AP Photo / Virginia MayoEuropean Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels. File photo
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels. File photo - Sputnik International
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Following the US and Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have also expressed their plans to not sign the UN Pact on Migration in December.

If one or two EU countries leave the UN migration pact, that weakens the EU as an international player, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker stated.

The statement comes after the government of Bulgaria refused to support the accession of the country to the UN World Pact on Migration. The decision was voiced by the chairman of the parliamentary group of the governing party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, following a meeting of the coalition council of the governing parties.

In addition to this, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis expressed his desire to pull the Czech Republic out of a UN migration agreement on November 1, saying that he would discuss the matter with his governing coalition partner.

Newly arrived migrants wait in front of the State Office for Health and Social Affairs to apply for asylum in Berlin, Germany August 11, 2015 - Sputnik International
AfD Slams Merkel's Coalition for Trying to Secretly 'Rush' UN Migration Pact
The German parliament, in turn, rejected a motion brought by the Alternative for Germany party, which demanded that Berlin not ratify the United Nations Global Compact for Migration.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is an intergovernmental agreement establishing a common understanding of all aspects of international migration and a framework for comprehensive international cooperation.

READ MORE: UN Migration 'Pact is Carte Blanche for Illegal Migration' — AfD Parliamentarian

The European Union has been experiencing a large-scale migration crisis since 2015 due to an influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises in the Middle East and North Africa.

The countries of the Visegrad Group — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — are known for their tough stance on accepting refugees, which has repeatedly been harshly criticized by EU bodies and many European politicians.

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