Balázs Molnár, Deputy State Secretary for EU Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office had talks with members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Landtag of Bavaria on 21 November 2017.

The Deputy State Secretary informed his partners about the Hungarian positions on the most important challenges the European Union is facing, migration, the future of the Schengen regime, Brexit, the future of the EU and the next Multiannual Fiscal Framework (MFF).

The parties agreed that the protection of the external borders is the primary method for securing the internal borders. The trends of recent weeks have also demonstrated that the pressure of migration is unpredictable: it has lately shifted towards Spain, but this may change at any time, and the influx of migrants has significantly increased via the Black Sea as well. Right from the beginning Hungary has stood up for the protection of the external borders not only in words, but also in actions.

The Bavarian party highlighted that the problem of migration is a major concern for Bavaria as well. There are at present more than 200,000 expulsion orders awaiting execution, the implementation of which seems doubtful. In this context, Mr. Molnár reiterated Hungary’s long-standing position whereby illegal migrants must be stopped outside the borders of the EU, and only persons eligible for international protection may be allowed into Europe.

The parties also agreed that a decision will have to be adopted on the future of the European asylum system at the level of the European Union, based on a consensus. The parties further agreed that we must speak about issues concerning citizens openly and frankly in the interest of preserving the trust of the electorate. These particularly important issues include inter alia security and job creation.

(Prime Minister's Office)