“Thanks to Hungary’s intervention, a joint European Union standpoint cannot be put forward on Monday’s round of negotiations on the UN migration package in New York”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI.

The second, intergovernmental round of debate on the UN’s Compact for Migration begins in New York tomorrow. Following the country groups, the Hungarian Foreign Minister will be the first to have the opportunity to take the floor in the debate, and will be presenting the Government’s 12-point position and making it clear that Hungary will continue to oppose the package until all of the Government’s points have been included in the text of the proposal, Mr. Szijjártó explained. While the underlying principle of the Compact for Migration is that migration is good and unstoppable, “the Hungarian Government can in no way provide any kind of support” towards its adoption, he stated.

The Minister pointed out that this week major preparative negotiations took place in Brussels and “they again tried to force down our throats that there should be a joint EU standpoint”. “During the first intergovernmental round of debate the head of the EU delegation took the floor despite the fact that there was no agreement between the 28 member states of the European Union, thus deceiving the international community into thinking that there exists a joint EU standpoint on the issue”, he recalled.

During the negotiations in Brussels this week, at Hungary’s initiative the legal service of the European Council made it clear that the head of the EU delegation or the current Presidency of the Council of the European Union can only take the floor if there exists a position that mirrors the unified will of all 28 member states, the Foreign Minister said. “In view of the fact that there is no such joint standpoint, the EU delegation and the current Presidency of the Council of the European Union will not be able to take the floor on Monday”, he pointed out.

“Negotiations are still ongoing on whether someone should speak in the name of the other 27 member states, but thanks to Hungary’s intervention a joint European standpoint cannot be put forward on this occasion”, the Minister noted.

(MTI)