“The participants of the Friends of the Salzburg Forum initiative are vital to reducing the number of people arriving via the main migration routes”, Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér said in the presence of supporting countries following a ministers’ conference of the Salzburg Forum on Tuesday.

“When the Salzburg Forum was founded, membership of the European Union was set as one of the conditions for membership”, he recalled, adding that the Friends of the Salzburg Forum cooperation had been established by countries that support the Forum’s efforts.

“These countries are now without exception viewed by Hungary as safe countries according to European Union criteria”, he emphasised.  The Minister stressed that during the course of action to combat illegal immigrations the countries involved must possess a suitable database and access to the required record systems. True friends become known in times of trouble and the Friends of the Salzburg Forum not only stood strong, but cooperated outstandingly when “trouble came to Europe”, Mr. Pintér highlighted.

“In order for these countries to provide tangible assistance and successfully filter out people ‘who don’t belong on EU territory’, they must have access to the to the same information and records systems that EU member states have in their possession”, the Minister stressed.

Jakub Skiba, in representation of Poland, the acting Chair of the Forum, spoke about the fact that anyone who needs help will receive it, for instance a Polish contingent is currently in Macedonia helping to protect the border.

“Everything must be done to guarantee the safety of citizens, and this must be supported equally by all EU member states”, he explained. “Terrorist threats are preying upon us, and it is our duty here and now to take action to ensure security”, he declared, noting that this is something the Polish presidency will be working on.

Macedonian Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski thanked the Forum’s member states for their assistance with relation to the migration crisis, adding that in his opinion it is only through cooperation and solidarity that we can meet the global challenges posed by terrorism.

State Secretary Miloslav Miličković said. “Serbia is working to achieve regional stability, and the Salzburg Forum is playing an important role in its realisation”. He explained that there are currently over six thousand migrants in Serbia, but stressed that the authorities are doing everything possible to ensure that the migrants receive humane treatment, in the interests of which they are conforming to EU principles and those adopted by the Forum. Mr. Miličković said that in his opinion the results achieved by the Austrian action plan would match those of the EU-Turkey agreement.

Bosnia-Hercegovina’s Minister of Security Dragan Mektic highlighted: It is important that his country has the opportunity to take part in the cooperation offered by the Forum because it enables it to learn EU standards and values, and because they would like to be part of the European system of security.

(MTI)