“Europe’s security and competitiveness requires strong cooperation between the United States and the European Union, including in the fight against terrorism”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared on Tuesday after taking part in a joint working lunch with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, and the foreign ministers of the European Union’s 28 member states.
At his press conference, the Hungarian Foreign Minister highlighted: “Without the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS), there will not be peace and security in Europe or in its neighbouring countries, because the terrorist organisation is threatening both Europe’s immediate vicinity and EU territory”. “Hungary is proud of being one of the 28 countries that is taking part in the work of the international coalition that has been established to combat ISIS, and it recently decided to increase the number of military personnel serving in the region from 150 to 200”, the Minister said.
According to the Minister, at Tuesday’s meeting it was agreed that the parties can continue to count on European-American cooperation on important geopolitical issues, in addition to which it was confirmed that the countries of the European Union are fully unified with regard to Euro-Atlantic integration, and the United States is also committed to the further reinforcement of cooperation.
“Without the stability of the Western Balkan region we cannot talk about comprehensive European security. As long as the countries of the region are still ruled by historic tensions, that also represents a security risk to Europe. Historic tensions can be overcome through new integration processes”, he highlighted.
Mr. Szijjártó stressed that the Hungarian Government regards it as important that it should contribute to the stability of the countries of the North African region, and so in accordance with the request of the Libyan President it has decided to re-open its embassy in Tripoli, which will begin full operations from January. “Hungary would like this to also contribute to enabling the Libyan government to assure the country’s stability, which reduces the level of migration from the region”, the Minister said.
According to the Hungarian Foreign Minister, economic cooperation with the United States must be as close as possible. “The United States is Hungary’s most important export market outside the European Union, and the 1700 American companies operating in Hungary provide employment for almost 100 thousand people. Accordingly, it is in Hungary’s interests for trade relations between the EU and the USA to be as free and active as possible”, he underlined.
With relation to the proposal on the reform of the common asylum regulations put forward in the second half of last week by Estonia, which holds the current Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and according to which the Dublin system would continue to not include permanent resettlement quotas of a mandatory nature in future, Mr. Szijjártó said that we must strive for rationality, because “there is no rational solution until the solution begins with the fact that the external borders of the European Union must be protected”. “As long as the European Union is incapable of protecting its external borders, it cannot practice a successful migration policy. In addition, it must also be capable of deciding for itself who can and cannot enter Europe, preferably as far as possible from its borders”, he underlined.
The Minister said that in his opinion as long as Europe is incapable of assuring this there is no point in talking about any kind of compromise, because any and all proposals that do not state that the territory of the European Union can only be entered in a legal manner will continue to be interpreted as an invitation by prospective immigrants. “And this goes against Europe’s interests, because what is at stake is the future of the continent”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stressed.
(MTI)
