“The situation that has developed because of the coronavirus could generate new waves of migration in the direction of Europe, which in addition to the inherent security and cultural risks, now also represent a threat to health”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó wrote in a Facebook post on Friday following a meeting with his European Union counterparts.

On the initiative of Spain, 14 European Union foreign ministers held a videoconference to discuss the situation that has developed in the Mediterranean region. Following the meeting, Mr. Szijjártó wrote: “The region was already facing major challenges prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and since then the problems have become even more serious”. “The situation that has developed because of the coronavirus could generate new waves of migration in the direction of Europe, which in addition to the inherent security and cultural risks, now also represent a threat to health”, he stated.

“Our position is clear: The European Union must do everything possible to ensure that further waves of migration do net set out from North Africa”, the Minister said. He emphasised that two things must be done to achieve this: “Our borders must be strictly protected, and development projects must be realised in places where there is the greatest need for them”.

“Hungary is undertaking its fair share of these tasks: we are providing assistance to several North African countries in the interests of enabling a supply of drinking water and to maintain the functioning of their healthcare systems”, Mr. Szijjártó added. “In addition, we are providing 1200 scholarship places to enable young people from North Africa to attend Hungarian universities, and have provided 22 million euros in funding so far to persecuted Christian communities. Together with the countries of the Visegrád Group (V4), we are providing 35 million euros in aid to help Libya protect against the epidemic and guard its borders”, the Hungarian Foreign Minister listed.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)