Europe will continue to be exposed to immigration as long as it cannot put up effective defence along the southern border of Greece – said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó by telephone to Hungarian news agency MTI on Friday after a meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotsias in Athens.
Péter Szijjártó emphasised that Greece’s external border is now like a door flung wide open, rendering the whole of Europe completely defenceless. This is a major security challenge to the Union as well as Hungary, as at present nobody knows how many of whom, from where and to what end are coming into the centre of Europe.
The Minister explained: during the meeting the parties agreed that the migration crisis is a complex challenge for Europe that demands a complex solution. The root causes need to be treated primarily: conflicts in Syria must be put an end to and political stability must be created in Libya. Péter Szijjártó and Nikos Kotsias agreed that the EU should provide aid and support to refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Kurdistan in the territory of Iraq.
Péter Szijjártó added that western politicians should stop making announcements that those wishing to come here can interpret as an invitation.
Hungary holds that a complex solution may only be achieved by defending the external borders of the Union, that is the southern borders of Greece. Greece however, is not willing to permit joint international forces enter her territory. The Visegrád Countries (V4) have demonstrated that it is possible to undertake a joint effort with international forces while retaining national sovereignty.
The two Foreign Ministers agreed to meet again next week in Luxembourg at the conference of Asian and European foreign minister and, in addition to issues relating to refugees now discussed, to continue their consultation concerning energy supplies.
Péter Szijjártó said that Central Europe’s energy supply is not secured since the Union and United States of America scrapped plans concerning the Southern Stream pipeline, only to agree on the expansion of the Northern Stream. Should Russia decide to cut gas supply through Ukraine, Hungary will be forced to look for new transport routes.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
