Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in Paris on Wednesday that the Patriots for Europe (PfE) has "a great significance" in the European Parliament, and the cooperation between Fidesz and the French Rassemblement National (RN) is especially important within the party group.
Speaking ahead of a meeting with RN president Jordan Bardella, he said that the party is an ally of the Hungarian government, and sits with Fidesz and the Hungarian Christian Democrats (KDNP) in the third largest party group of the European Parliament.
At the meeting, Minister Szijjártó said that they would mostly review Europe-related political issues, as several of the two parties' approaches to challenges facing the continent were similar.
The two parties agree on border protection and tightening migration regulations, which "could remedy one of Europe's greatest problems, the migration crisis," Minister Szijjártó said. "Europe's external borders must be protected, and it must be made clear that entry to Europe is only possible through legal and regulated channels; immigration must be stopped rather than managed," he said.
"Also, we both believe in a Europe of nations and are protecting our sovereignty. Unfortunately, we had to face many attacks from Brussels on that score. Our sovereignty would definitely suffer if the requirement of unanimous decision was scrapped on issues where it is currently in place," he said.
That would turn the EU into "the alliance and server of a few large member states, and midsize and small countries would have no other choice but to agree with them."
Hungary, on the other hand, wants to represent its own interests in the EU, he said.
RN is the largest party in PfE, and Fidesz has the only serving prime minister in the group, Szijjártó noted.
"It's the same on the matter of foreign affairs. I am the only one representing the PfE in the Foreign Affairs Council, so cooperation with the party group is especially important when it comes to working in the EP and the European Council," Szijjártó said.