Hungary’s foreign minister has said the United Nations’ migration package “betrays Europe” because the plan is “in conflict with the interests of the people”.
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, made the remark during a joint press conference with Heinz-Christian Strache, the vice-chancellor of Austria, in Vienna on Wednesday.
Minister Szijjártó insisted that the package would pose a “serious danger” for Europe as it is “aimed at legalizing illegal migration as a fundamental human right” and said that Hungary would vote against the proposal at next year’s UN general assembly session. The minister also congratulated Austria for not supporting the package.
The foreign minister has also requested Austria’s assistance in ensuring legal border crossing between the two countries “through as many crossing stations as possible”.
Strache said that Hungary had set an example in 2015 through protecting the European Union’s Schengen borders. He added that he considered the “Soros-Sargentini Report” as invalid and argued that abstentions should have been considered as votes cast in the procedure when the European Parliament adopted the document.
Austria’s vice-chancellor also commented on the UN migration pack and said that his government disagreed with 17 out of its 23 points. Austria would vote against the package to prevent “bad development”, he said, adding that the line between legal and illegal migration must not be removed.
Finally, Strache confirmed that Austria had extended its border controls by another six months. “As long as the EU borders are not permanently secured, we need to protect our borders ourselves,” he said.