“There is a stealthy attempt going on to enable Brussels to bring back the EU immigration policy that has already failed once”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in the recess of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

In a statement to Hungarian reporters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade stressed that European officials are attempting to “put member state to sleep” when they put forward assessment on the fact that the migration crisis is a thing of the past, whereas according to fresh reports the number of people who want to get into Europe illegally is continuing to increase.

“The fact that last year the number of illegal immigrants apprehended in Turkey increased by some 50 percent and exceeded 265 thousand, that increased migrant traffic is being reported along the Greek-Turkish land border, that the number of registered illegal immigrants has doubled in Spain, and that data from Cyprus also indicates the doubling of the figures, contradicts the statements made by certain Brussels leaders”, the Minister said.

Mr. Szijjártó drew attention to the fact that the migration chapter of the draft statement of the EU-Arab League ministerial meeting planed for February cites the UN Global Compact for Migration, which one third of EU member states, eight countries in addition to Hungary, did not vote for, as a basis of reference.

“Hungary will not authorise this statement, which wants to set down the fact that the opportunities provided by migration channels must be exploited to the full and that migration processes can make a significant contribution to the growth and sustainable development of source, transit and target countries”, he underlined.

“It is high time we forgot this failed migration policy that has only brought danger to Europe, but whenever there is a chance, they always attempt to bring it back”, he stated.

With relation to one of the central topics of the meeting of foreign ministers, European action against fake news, Mr. Szijjártó said that the European Union wants to introduce a new mechanism aimed mainly at sifting out fake news that is purportedly of Russian origin, and wants to protect the EU from anyone interfering in such a manner.

Mr. Szijjártó declared that spreading fake news or news that is more negative than reality can cause major damage to countries. As he explained, Hungary has experience with relation to people attempting to interfere in internal affairs from outside using fake news, and also with relation to media outlets and institutions operating within the EU attempting to cause difficulties and paint a false picture of Hungary using such methods. The case of Ahmed H., with relation to which both member states and NGOs have made statements, is one such instance, and according to one report published by the European Parliament the perpetrator committed the act (attacking Hungarian police officers) with the intention of cooling tensions.

“This is how pieces of fake news become politics-making factors”, he underlined.

According to Mr. Szijjártó, he informed the EU foreign ministers that the deportation of Ahmed H. has begun, and “we are waiting for member states who assured Ahmed H. of their support during the court proceedings to come forward”; anyone can take him in now, but nobody has come forward as yet. The Minister pointed out that according to the Sargentini report, Ahmed H. only wanted to help his family, and this is why he attacked the Hungarian police officers, “so we can clearly see the consequences of spreading fake news”.

With relation to the EU–Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting underway in Brussels, the Minister said that having recognised the fact that Southeast Asia is a rapidly developing region from an economic perspective, the European Union would like to accelerate the ongoing negotiations on a free trade agreement.

“Hungary’s trade relations with the region have increased significantly in the recent period, and last year trade flow increased by 23 percent year-on-year”, he stated. “If the EU succeeds in closing the negotiations and implementing its free trade agreement with Vietnam or Singapore, it would also mean significant trade and economic advantages for Hungary”, Mr. Szijjártó underlined.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)