ATHENS: Hungary’s foreign minister said Friday that Europe remains threatened by unchecked immigration and must focus on stopping it, three years after the mass influx of about a million people.
Peter Szijjarto told The Associated Press that the European Union should screen asylum-seekers in camps created outside its own borders, which he said the bloc should be able to police more efficiently.
“Now we are exactly where we used to be three years ago,” he said. “The European Union is defenseless from the south and from the southeast.”
Szijjarto spoke on the sidelines of a regional EU foreign ministers meeting in Greece that discussed energy cooperation, and the bloc’s expansion before a summit next week in Bulgaria.
Greece is a major gateway to the EU for asylum-seekers, and has seen increasing arrivals in recent months.
Hungary is strongly critical of EU immigration policies, has built border fences to keep migrants out and rejects the bloc’s obligatory quota system for taking in asylum-seekers.
“We should not speak about how to encourage migration, how to manage migration, we should speak about how to stop the migratory flows,” Szijjarto said. “Because if the migratory flows continue then that would pose a significant security threat (to) Europe.”
Friday’s talks in a resort south of Athens brought together ministers from the so-called Visegrad Group — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary — and Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.
Visegrad Group members strongly object to EU immigration policies, and resent criticism over the rule of the law in their countries from many EU partners.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told the AP that while attitudes toward Poland from other European capitals and “elites” have improved, countries facing similar criticism should take common defensive action.
“Countries of the region, central and eastern Europe, should stay together,” he said. “We have common interests, we cannot accept double standards within the European Union, and we have to defend our cause.”
Hungary says Europe remains ‘defenseless’ against migrants
Hungary says Europe remains ‘defenseless’ against migrants
- Hungary’s foreign minister: “The European Union is defenseless from the south and from the southeast.”
- Hungary is strongly critical of EU immigration policies and has built border fences to keep migrants out.
EU chief calls additional US tariffs a mistake, insists sovereignty of Greenland ‘non-negotiable’
DUBAI: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described additional US tariffs on Europe as “a mistake,” and insisted that the sovereignty of Greenland was “non-negotiable” during a special address on Tuesday.
“When it comes to the security of the Arctic region, Europe is fully committed. And we share the objectives of the US in this regard … and this is why the proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between longstanding allies,” she said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Donald Trump has vowed to follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose his demand to take control of Greenland.
The US administration claims it is considering buying the semi-autonomous territory from fellow Nato member Denmark to prevent Russia and China from taking it.
But Von der Leyen said the EU was working on a package to support Arctic security, and also expressed the bloc’s full solidarity with Greenland and Denmark.
“The sovereignty and integrity of the territory is non-negotiable,” she said of Greenland as Trump declined to rule out the option of annexing it by force.
Von der Leyen made a reference to Trump’s wider focus on the Arctic region, which saw Washington order icebreaker ships from Finland.
“We will work with the US and all partners on wider Arctic security. Above all ... Arctic security can only be achieved together.
“Our EU member, Finland, one of the newest NATO members, is selling its first icebreakers to the US. And this shows that we have the capability right here in the ice, so to speak. It shows that our northern NATO members have Arctic ready forces right now.
“The EU and US agreed to a trade deal last July. And in politics, as in business, a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.
“We consider the people of the US not just our allies, but our friends. And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape.”
Von der Leyen insisted that the EU would continue to collaborate with the US on Ukraine amid Russia’s intensifying attacks.
