“It is good news with relation to the admittance of refugees that the issue of mandatory quotas has finally been removed from the agenda and everyone has understood that there will be no quotas, because there can be no quotas”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared on Friday in Brussels in a statement to Hungarian reporters in the recess of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

In reply to a question from the press, Mr. Szijjártó stressed: “There will be no quotas, because there can be no quotas”.

“There can be no quotas because there are EU member states that do not want to admit migrants and that do not want to become immigrant countries, and there can also be no quotas because there will never be agreement between the countries of the European Union on the adoption of mandatory resettlement quotas”, he said. “In Hungary’s opinion the correct solution remains the setting up of a clear order, in which the protection of Europe’s external borders must be in first place”, Mr. Szijjártó said.

As he explained, “the situation has not changed” significantly; there are still countries that want migration and countries that do not want migration.

“There are still some who want to manage migration processes, and those who want to stop them”, he stated.

“This antagonism has still not been resolved in any form”, he added.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister declared that it would also be in the interests of front countries for illegal immigrants to not be able to go there, he declared.

“For this reason, it is worth listening to the opinions of countries that want to say a clear no to illegal immigration. Hungary supports the idea that the European Union should not invite illegal immigrants, but should stop its doublespeak and clearly state: if someone gets on board the ship of people smugglers in North Africa, there is no guarantee that they will be able to disembark in Europe”, he declared.

“This is what could radically reduce the immigration pressure on Europe”, he stressed.

“We are still far from a state of affairs in which European citizens can rest assured, but a decision has finally been made that restores their security”, Mr. Szijjártó added.

(MTI)