Hungary has welcomed a letter issued by the German and Italian foreign ministers calling for the European Commission to establish an EU border protection mission in Libya.
“The Hungarian government fully supports the German-Italian proposal on the establishment of an EU border protection mission to serve in Libya," Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs, has said.
In fact, Hungary was the first to state that illegal immigrants must not be allowed into Europe, but that hotspots must instead be established outside the continent, where it can be decided who can and cannot enter Europe.
“At the time, the Hungarian proposal was heavily criticized, but the situation has now changed. A few days ago the German and Italian Interior Ministers issued a joint letter calling on the European Commission to establish an EU border protection mission to serve in Libya," the minister added.
“The Hungarian government fully agrees with the proposal, especially in view of the fact that 42,500 illegal immigrants have arrived in Italy until mid-April, and many more are expected to set out for the continent with the onset of good weather," he added.
German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday that German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière and Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti had jointly called on the European Commission to establish a European Union border protection mission to serve on the border between Libya and Niger. According to the proposal, every EU member state would have to take part in the mission.