“Hungary is supporting the protection of Serbia’s southern border because there is a realistic danger of a new wave of migration setting out via the Western Balkans”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Monday following a meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić.

“It is Hungary’s firm standpoint that Serbia is ready for EU membership and it is in Hungary’s interests for Serbia to become a member of the European Union as soon as possible”, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted.  “It in the interests of the Hungarian community living there and also in our security interests”, he added. “It is in our interests for the Western Balkans to be a stable and secure place, and the fastest way to achieve this is through EU integration, and this is why ‘we are supporting and in fact demanding’ that the EU begin a new chapter of negotiations with Serbia immediately”, he said.

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The Foreign Minister explained: “Today, the relationship between the two countries is characterised by historical reconciliation”. “If every neighbouring country had done as much for its Hungarian national community as the Serbian Government, the Carpathian Basin would be a more peaceful and tranquil place today”, he said, adding that “The Serbian Government is treating it’s Hungarian minority community even better than EU standards require”.

There will be a Hungarian-Serbian Cabinet Summit on 20-21 November, prior to which the Economic Joint Committee will also be holding a meeting, the Foreign Minister told the press, also announcing that a new border crossing station will be opened at Bácsszentgyőrgy, and that the parties had submitted two joint development projects to the EU.

Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned that immigration had been an important topic of the meeting. “If we and the countries of the Western Balkans are not capable of protecting our borders” then the scenes of last year could be repeated; this is why “we are supporting Serbia’s efforts”, he explained. “The fact that allowing the uncontrolled entry of immigrants is harmful and dangerous is now no longer a matter of dispute even in Europe”, he pointed out.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić stressed: “The two countries are linked by friendly relations and agree on many issues, which is something that perhaps seemed impossible a few years ago”. “Bilateral relations are becoming increasingly stronger and have never been as good, because we have found the points according to which we can develop cooperation”, he said.

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The Serbian Foreign Minister also stated that Serbia lies along the Western Balkan migration route between two parts of the EU; the immigrants are passing through Serbia and as a result Serbia could end up being one of the greatest victims of the migration crisis. “Serbia is unhappy with the fact that the EU does not have a unified policy on the issue”, he declared, adding that “Huge numbers of migrants cannot be allowed to get stuck on Serbian territory and this is something that could also endanger regional stability”, he added.

In reply to a question, Mr. Dačić told reporters: “The migrants currently in Serbia are already straining the limits of the country’s endurance and if more arrive in large numbers then Serbia will implement measures, because it has no other option”.

In reply to another question, Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned that British Prime Minister Theresa May had announced that Great Britain would be activating Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which regulates the exit procedure and officially launches it, before the end of March. According to the Hungarian Foreign Minister, “the announcement has given the EU ‘a strict set of duties’, because it must be ready to begin negotiations by the end of March, meaning it must prepare a strategy by that time, but that strategy must not be based on bureaucratic decision-making, but on the political will of the EU’s Member States”, he explained. “The strategy shouldn’t be drawn up by the European Commission, but instead the European Council should decide on what the EU’S implementing body should negotiate about”, he continued.

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In the Foreign Minister’s view, two important interests must be taken into account: firstly, economic, trade and investment relations must remain as unhindered as possible, and secondly the negotiating strategy must include protecting the rights of EU citizens working in the United Kingdom.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)