Katalin Novák, the Vice-President of Fidesz and Minister of State for Family and Youth Affairs, held talks with Italian centre-right parties about the protection of the European borders and the preservation of traditional family values in Rome on Tuesday, a day after several EU Member States came to an accord about the distribution of migrants in Malta.

Ms. Novák held talks with representatives of the centre-right Forza Italia (Forward Italy, FI), and the right-wing Liga (League) and Fratelli D’Italia (Brothers of Italy, FdI) parties, including with Lorenzo Fontana, the League’s former Minister for Family and Minister of European Affairs.

In a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI, the Vice-President of Fidesz highlighted that in Italy the right wing (which is currently the opposition) is very strong and is supported by the majority of Italians; if the elections were held today, these powers would be the ones to lead Italy. She added that these parties are the natural allies of Fidesz.

“Hungary and Italy are also allies when it comes to migration, as with its seas Italy must protect Europe’s maritime borders, while Hungary has the same obligation when it comes to borders on land: This is how it was when the Matteo Salvini-led League party was at the head of the Roman government, and this is how it will be when they come to power once again, and that is why it is important to maintain relations in the meantime”, Ms. Novák declared.

She explained that the Italian right wing is stronger in the European Parliament than the Italian left-wing,  and “therefore when European-level decisions are made, we can count on each other to uphold the same stance against migration”, the State Secretary said. She stated that the Hungarian and Italian right-wing, the Polish right-wing, the remainder of the Visegrád Group (V4) countries, and the Austrian right-wing operate in accordance with this shared goal.

“The political community that upholds the belief that we should protect Europe and not let it become a migrant continent is strong. Instead, we should help people who are in trouble at the source of the problem; that is where we should find a solution to problems, instead of importing those problems here”, she declared.

Ms. Novák stated that under no circumstance can the Hungarian government accept the distribution quota: “We do not agree with the distribution mechanism outlined in the Malta agreement, we will not support any kind of mandatory resettlement quota, and we also do not wish to participate in distribution on a voluntary basis”. She added that Hungary is, however, prepared to provide help locally, or to assist in sending those economic migrants who are in Europe illegally back to where they came from.

The State Secretary will be holding talks in the Vatican on Wednesday. She said that the Vatican could also be Hungary’s ally in the fight for the preservation of the traditional family.

She also said that when it comes to numerous cases and international documents, Hungary and the Vatican uphold the same position “on the attacks against strong family values continuously being launched by the liberal side”.

(MTI)