At an annual hearing in front of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, the foreign minister stressed that migration is still the number one issue on Europe’s political agenda.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the countries that go against the mainstream and reserve the right to decide for themselves whom they allow into their territory and whom they wish to live together with still face constant pressure. The idea of a mandatory migrant settlement is not completely off the table and still gets floated regularly, he added.
According to MTI, Minister Szijjártó said Hungary’s ability to protect itself and resist pressure was “an important success”.
The minister said significant forces were in play in New York in an attempt to enshrine the United Nations’ global migration compact into international law. He said Hungary is one of the countries that rejected the compact, adding that serious attempts were being made to make the document a point of reference in international law at the same time.
Minister Szijjártó told the hearing that the migration situation was intensifying at Europe’s southern borders “and our interest” is that instead of inspiring new migration waves, the EU should help migrants return home or potential migrants stay in their homeland.
The minister also said the past year has shown that Hungary’s foreign policy has achieved its goals and the means to achieve them have been effective.
Meanwhile, he said the Visegrad Group was still “the most successful and tightest alliance within the EU”, adding that the V4 had been successful in representing their joint stance on various EU-related issues. He added that economic ties among the four countries have also got stronger and they are committed to upholding the alliance.
Photo credit: Magyar Hírlap