“A strategic alliance and friendship with Austria is in Hungary’s interests and these relations must be based on mutual respect and recognition”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday in Budapest after having told his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz: “We must protect the EU’s external borders together, because a Europe without internal borders can only be guaranteed via effective border protection”.

At the press conference following the meeting, the Hungarian Foreign Minister stressed: “Hungary may on occasion not have felt this recently from Austrian political leaders, but cooperation with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always been good, and this is what represents the best foundations for rebuilding and reinforcing the alliance and friendship between the two countries”.

“The EU is experiencing the most serious crisis in its history and the migration situation is generating major despites, but the standpoints of Hungary and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs coincide on many issues; the proposals of Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz point in the same direction as the Schengen 2.0 plan”, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted.

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“Europe’s migration policies must be placed on totally new foundations. Instead of people in the EU thinking about how to bring even more people here and distribute the burden, we should instead concentrate on reducing the burden and bring decisions that reduce migration pressure to a minimum”, he explained.

“There can be no solution without border protection; the EU and its Member States must regain their capability of protecting the European Union’s external borders”, he declared, adding “Decisions on affording asylum status must be mad outside the territory of the European Union and hot spots must be established outside the EU, because once someone enters the European Union they will stay here regardless of whether or not they have been granted asylum, and attempts to send them back are often unsuccessful”.

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Mr. Szijjártó told the press that he and his Austrian counterpart both agree that people who try to enter Europe illegally should not be granted asylum status, and people who arrive from countries where there is peace should not be violating Hungary’s border regulations. “For instance, nobody’s life is in danger in Croatia or Serbia and it is unacceptable that people should try to travel on illegally from a safe country”, he explained, adding that “It is also important that funding provided by the European Union to countries that are the source of thousands of immigrants should be tied to certain conditions”.

With regard to border protection, he also declared: “Cooperation is required; we cannot leave countries that lie along the European Union’s external borders to fend for themselves”.

Sebastian Kurz also stressed the importance of the rational application of resources and of the fact that immigrants should enter Europe legally, because that is less dangerous, their numbers can be better kept in check and it will not result in certain countries being overburdened with migrants.

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According to the Austrian Foreign Minister, the existing European refugee system is clearly not working and there must be a joint will in Europe to formulate new regulations. In reply to a question he also touched on the fact that there certain statements have been made recently in Europe that could be construed as an invitation in other parts of the world. “Now we must thwart these hopes that have been raised with regard to the fact that everybody is welcome here, and this is a difficult process”, he explained.

On the subject of Hungarian-Austrian economic cooperation, Mr. Szijjártó told the press: “Austria is Hungary’s fourth largest investor and the country’s second largest trade partner; 75 thousand Austrian enterprises provide work for 75 thousand people in Hungary”.

Mr. Kurz said a secure legal environment and predictability are important to Austrian companies, and welcomed the Hungarian Foreign Minister’s openness with regard to cooperating with Austrian enterprises.

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In reply to a question concerning Thursday’s referendum on the United Kingdom’s continued membership of the European Union, Mr. Szijjártó said: “Although the decision is for the people of Britain, it is in Hungary’s interests for the United Kingdom to remain a member of the European Union and Brexit would be against the interests of the EU from both a political and economic perspective.” “In addition, we would also lose a pragmatic voice in debates about the future of the European Union, an opinion that is often in harmony with Hungary’s vision”, he said, adding that “the British example must in no way become contagious”. “Hungary’s future lies within the European Union and the future of a strong Hungary lies within a strong European Union; both the EU and Hungary have profited from Hungary’s membership”, the Foreign Minster declared.

With relation to the fact that in Austria the Constitutional Court is examining the result of May’s presidential election, the Austrian Foreign Minister said: “A political party has made a complaint with relation to the election; it is its democratic right to lodge a complaint and accordingly it is appropriate that the Constitutional Court should examine the issue”.

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Austria’s Constitutional Court began examining the complaint, which was lodged by the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) on 9 June and which represents a legal challenge to the results of the presidential election, at the beginning of this week.

(MTI)