Rétvári: Brussels is punishing Hungary for policing its borders
Concerning illegal migration, Rétvári said: "The EU has wasted ten years and is no closer to a solution, but the problem has grown even further."
Concerning illegal migration, Rétvári said: "The EU has wasted ten years and is no closer to a solution, but the problem has grown even further."
György Bakondi said that although this figure is lower compared with previous years, it still posed a serious challenge.
United Nations data shows that almost 1 million irregular migrants come to Europe each year.
At a trilateral migration summit held in Komárom (Komárno) today, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán highlighted the growing panic among Western leaders over the ongoing migration crisis.
No government is ready to "round up" migrants already within the borders and expel them from the EU, he said. "The only migrants who won't stay are the ones we don't allow in," PM Orbán said.
The European Union's inconsistent approach to member states' border control measures has never been more evident—or more troubling.
Hungary is preparing to take significant action to address illegal migration, following the Netherlands in seeking an exemption from European Union migration and asylum rules.
The foreign minister said Hungary was being punished for protecting its borders, and yet "no one says a word about" the fact that Germany has closed the internal Schengen borders.
György Bakondi said the fact that some migrants were carrying knives or guns showed that illegal migration posed a threat to the county's security.
EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the state of Europe.
For almost a decade, Hungary has protected the EU’s external border, spending more than 2 billion euros of its own money to meet its Schengen obligations.
The state secretary said the EU needed to take action against illegal migration.
Gergely Gulyás said the protection of the Schengen Area’s external borders “is important for the whole of Europe, and not just protecting Hungary from migration.”