Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Hungary would continue to defend its borders amid fresh attempts by the European Union to impose mandatory migrant redistribution quotas on its member states.
“We will not yield to the blackmail of either Soros’ NGOs, western (European) governments or Brussels,” Szíjjártó said during an interview with Die Welt. “We will not implement the compulsory settlement quota and we will continue to oppose it as we have done so far.”
In the same interview, Minister Szíjjártó said it would be pointless to speak of a common European stance so long as the European Union’s external borders are not guarded properly, About Hungary reports.
The Hungarian FM also said that the migration problem can only be solved by individual member states, not by the reinforcement of the European Union’s border protection agency Frontex, which Szíjjártó says “functions as a travel agency”.
On Sunday, the Foreign Minister also told Hungary’s public news channel M1 that Italy’s decision to re-open its borders to mass immigration was regrettable. He also pushed back against assertions made by Italy’s new coalition that countries which refuse to take their share of illegal migrants should in some way be punished.
Szíjjártó explained that this is nothing more than another attempt to exert pressure on member states to approve the migrant quota which clearly displays that the mandatory distribution mechanism is still on the agenda. “We reject it”, he said.
“Hungary will not accept any type of quota and will defend its borders by all means,” the Foreign minister said.
During the interview, Szíjjártó cited official figures from Greece which show that approximately 224,000 migrants have arrived in the first seven months of this year. He went onto correctly liken the current situation to Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015.
“The only clear dividing line in Europe is between the opponents and supporters of illegal migration,” Szijjarto declared.
LINKS
https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/plus200360072/Ungarns-Aussenminister-Peter-Szijjarto-Frontex-ist-ein-Reisebuero.html
http://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/fm-hungary-will-not-bow-to-pressure-or-blackmail-over-migrant-quotas/
https://thehungaryjournal.com/2019/09/16/szijjarto-hungary-will-defend-its-borders-despite-italys-decision/
https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/09/hungarian-fm-on-migrant-redistribution-quotas-we-reject-it/
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