The Foreign Minister has said Europe is entering a phase in which “anti-migration” governments could be subject to increased pressure and face attempts to “cram mandatory migrant quotas down the throats of European countries”.
Peter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said on Kossuth Rádió on Sunday morning that such quotas lack any legal foundation. He added that Hungary would not accept any quota and considers protection of the borders the highest priority.
Minister Szijjártó said it was concerning that the new Italian government had opened south-Italian ports to ships carrying illegal migrants, and added that the move would give new impetus to migration as well as to supporters of the migrant quota proposal. Opening those ports is against Europe’s security interests and only benefits people smugglers, he insisted. “We have just enough illegal migrants in Europe already, no more must be allowed in,” he added.
The Minister said the situation in Greece is approaching that in 2015 and its islands have become “appallingly crowded” with migrants. He added that there are several thousand illegal migrants in the Western Balkans, that “wreak havoc on the life of locals and see use their extremely aggressive behaviour as a ticket to Europe”.
Minister Szijjártó said that the Visegrad countries were unanimous on their stand against the migrant quota, and added that Hungary and Italy, under its earlier government, had proven that illegal migration could be stopped. Hungary, however, “suffered a political revenge” and Italy “dropped Salvini’s policy and returned to Brussels’ false narrative that illegal migration trends cannot be stopped,” he insisted.
The new Italian government’s position on major issues is “diametrically opposed” to the Hungarian stance as “it is a pro-migration leftist government”. The Hungarian government will reject any pressure from any European country aimed at Hungary’s allowing illegal migrants to enter, he added.
Photo credit: Magyar Nemzet