The foreign minister said migration pressure from the Sahel region poses a serious short-term risk to the EU, which has a vested interest in strengthening the stability of north African states.
After meeting Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita alongside Visegrad Group foreign ministers, Péter Szijjártó said the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia together had “successfully stopped the introduction of mandatory resettlement quotas in the EU.” “Had we not shown strength and unity, tens of thousands of illegal migrants would be living in central Europe right now,” he said.
The minister said Central European states maintain that help should be taken where the trouble is, and the root causes of migration should be handled there. Europe should also cooperate with states that can contribute to pushing back “European defense lines” as far as possible, he said. Migration pressure from Africa “has always been a headache”, and it is expected to strengthen as the causes of migration from the continent pick up, he said. Twelve terrorist organisations are currently active in the Sahel, he noted. The security of the region is deteriorating and economic challenges are exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, he added.
Photo credit: MTI