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.
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.