The Foreign Minister has said the European Union has "fully delivered" the continent to illegal migrants by “practically handing them invitations to Europe”.
On the sidelines of a conference in Bled, Slovenia, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the EU’s migration policy must be changed. He added that “the only protection” against illegal migration was provided by the EU-Turkey agreement. “Should that agreement fail for some reason, hundreds of thousands and millions will flood Europe and the Western Balkans will certainly not be able to stop them,” he insisted.
According to MTI, the Minister said stopping illegal migration requires protection of the borders, but “the EU has done nothing to that end south of Hungary. Moreover, it has encouraged hundreds of thousands to violate and cross the borders,” Minister Szijjártó said. Rather than “advocating the permeability of borders” the community should concentrate on border control, he added.
As a further measure, Minister Szijjártó called for accelerating the European integration of countries in the Western Balkans. The sooner Serbia and Montenegro join the EU the more likely it will be that illegal migrants can be stopped before they reach Hungary’s borders, he said. Integrating the Balkans equals shifting the EU’s line of protection further south, the Minister concluded.
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