Hungary’s foreign minister has said the Italian and Hungarian governments’ policies on migration are identical on a multitude of points.
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, made the remarks after meeting Italian counterpart Enzo Moavero Milanesi on Thursday.
“The Hungarian government cooperates with everybody who seeks to stop illegal migration and prioritizes border protection,” Minister Szijjártó said.
According to MTI, Hungary maintains its standpoint that migrants should not be distributed among EU countries but should be prevented from coming to Europe.
The minister said the position of the new Italian government and the new Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, coincides with the Hungarian government’s in many ways. “We agreed that the root causes [of migration] must be addressed … and entering Europe must be done according to European rules,” he said.
Minister Szijjártó added that Milanesi had underlined Hungary’s view that border protection trumped all other issues in terms of managing the migration crisis, and that the EU should again assert its ability to protect its own borders. He added that Australia has already shown that maritime borders can be protected.