Minister of State for EU Affairs Szabolcs Takács has said that in Hungary’s opinion a distinction should be made between immigrants and refugees; furthermore, Hungary rejects the quota system proposed by the European Commission, and in this respect it is not alone among EU Member States.

The Minister of State was participating in a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, the main topics of which were preparation for the European Council meeting to be held in June and the issue of immigration.

Following the meeting he told press agency MTI that the European Council had discussed the issue of immigration on 23 April, and the European Commission had published a strategic document on the issue on 13 May. He emphasised that Hungary regards the issue of immigration as a complex one, and he said that it is clear that European countries have certain moral and humanitarian obligations towards those entitled to political refugee status. Hungary complies with these obligations and it fully complies with the provisions of relevant international agreements.

At the same time, he also drew the attention to the fact that, as the problem is a European one, European crisis management is needed; in this the special situations of individual Member States must be taken into consideration. He also noted that many people take advantage of the weaknesses in current European immigration policy.

Mr. Takács explained that Hungary is one of those countries which think that a distinction should be made between immigrants and refugees: those entitled to political refugee status must be given international protection and all assistance necessary, especially if their lives are threatened. He also stressed, however, that all available methods should be used to restrict immigration which aims to abuse European policies; migration for economic reasons must be subject to different considerations, he said.

Concerning the Commission’s document, he said that it is a good thing that the body aims to participate constructively in the debate, but it is a matter of concern that is has not taken as a foundation the conclusions which the Council came to in April. Hungary does not accept that Brussels should introduce mandatory quotas for Member States. Mr. Takács pointed out that there is complete consensus on this issue among the Visegrád countries; furthermore, the Baltic countries, France and Great Britain also take this stance, he said.

The Minister of State was of the opinion that during the debates there should be consideration not only of the problems of those arriving from across the Mediterranean, but also of those coming through the Western Balkans. After Sweden, Hungary receives the highest number of immigrants per head of population; over the last twenty years the number of those arriving in Hungary has increased twentyfold, he said.

In conclusion the Minister of State said that Europe must find the solutions with which the situation in the home countries of immigrants can be improved, although he also declared that this is obviously a difficult task.

(MTI)