“The European Union is chasing shadows if it thinks the compulsory quota system can provide a solution to the migration crisis”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told Hungarian news agency MTI on Monday in Prague.
Hungary’s chief diplomat is in Prague attending an emergency meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Visegrád Group on the migration crisis, which began on Monday afternoon. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Luxembourg, which currently holds the Presidency of the European Union, were also invited to the meeting.
“The real solution would be for the EU to regain control over its own borders; if the EU was once again capable of protecting its own borders”, Mr. Szijjártó stressed. “The quota system is impossible to implement; the fundamental conditions for its realisation do not exist” and the system “only serves to further increase pressure on the European Union”, he added.
The four countries of the Visegrád Group – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – unanimously reject the quota system put forward by Brussels. Monday’s meeting of Foreign Ministers is aimed at enabling the member countries to review their standpoints on migration prior to the EU summit on Wednesday.
According to Mr. Szijjártó, the neuralgic point with regard to protecting the EU’s borders is Greece, which is currently incapable of protecting its Schengen borders.
“It is a European responsibility and a European task to once again make Greece capable of protecting its borders, and as such the external borders of the European Union”, the Minister said.
“We suggest that the EU should establish a massive European force that is capable of protecting Greece’s borders. This requires money, soldiers and technology. We are prepared to contribute our share to such an endeavour”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
In Mr. Szijjártó’s opinion, Europe must count on migration pressure increasing rather than falling in future.
“Amidst the migration crisis, ‘Hungary’s difficult position is caused by the fact that two EU member states are totally disregarding European Union law in a demonstrative manner”, Minister Szijjártó pointed out, adding that “Neither Greece nor Croatia is registering refugees, but are instead sending them on towards the West; in Croatia’s case, straight on to Hungary”, he highlighted.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)