Following the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told journalists that the European Union must pay increased attention to its neighbours because instability in partner countries could pose significant threats to Europe.

Border protection is part of national sovereignty, but the protection of external borders is the shared responsibility of the EU community, where a much firmer stance is needed, the Minister added.

Concerning the Eastern Partnership programme, Mr. Szijjártó emphasised that the EU should adopt a pro-active role to counterbalance the influence of Russia.

He explained that Hungary urges pragmatic business cooperation with the eastern partner countries, as it is in the interest of the EU as well that a dialogue is established with Russia and associated regional economic communities based on mutual benefits. Russia has to be on board because without it, certain economic issues of Europe cannot be solved.

In response to a question, Mr. Szijjártó said that the sanctions against Russia were only mentioned in a few remarks at the meeting. He added that Hungary continues to comply with the EU’s related decisions, even though these sanctions have failed to promote the implementation of the Minsk agreements and caused serious damages to Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, and within it, Hungary. Hungarian companies have lost USD 3 billion since the introduction of the sanctions, the Minister noted.

Mr. Szijjártó also announced that EU foreign ministers suspended sanctions against Belarus. He expressed his hope that the sanctions will be completely abandoned by February. He said that in recognition of the Gergia’s reform measures and accomplishments, the country should be granted full visa liberalisation early next year.

Azerbaijan was also was also on the agenda of the meeting, as it is an essential partner to Europe in the fields of gas supply and energy security.

Mr. Szijjártó said that measures to combat terrorism were also discussed at the meeting. The Minister was of the opinion that the first step of the fight against terrorism should be the protection of external (EU) borders; thousands of people arriving illegally and without any registration on a daily basis to the European Union clearly increases the security risk, he said.

The Minister also expressed his appreciation of Macedonia: although they are not members of the Schengen zone or the European Union, they make great efforts to protect the borders of Europe.

Regarding the fight against terrorism, Mr. Szijjártó said that as a part of the international contingent, Hungarian units (in Iraq) have increased their training capacities to an extent that they are now able to train an entire company at the same time.

Concerning people forced to flee their homes due to terrorism, the Minister stressed that in addition to Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, financial support should also be provided to refugee camps in the Iraqi Kurdistan in order to allow refugees to stay close to the their countries of origin.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)