The foreign minister has underlined Hungary’s position on the EU’s Cotonou agreement that the issue of migration must remain a national competence.
According to MTI, Péter Szijjártó discussed with his Polish, Estonian and Maltese counterparts the pact the EU signed in 2000 with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), which is currently under renegotiation.
The minister called the chapters on migration the “most critical part” of the agreement, adding that it did not “contain a word” about the security and health risks posed by migration to Europe. “The European Commission has unfortunately taken a pro-migration stance again,” Minister Szijjártó said, noting that it would want to promote migration from ACP countries. “We do not accept that others tell us whom we should allow to enter Hungary, as we do not accept the promotion of migration for labour purposes,” he said, adding that as a result millions of people would lose their jobs.
Minister Szijjártó conclued that Hungary’s position is that the EU must “make clear” in the agreement that the aim is to stop migration and only those should come to Europe who observe rules.
Photo credit: Magyar Hírlap