“Protecting the rights of Hungarians living in Great Britain is paramount”, Minister of State for the Development and Coordination of EU Policies Szabolcs Takács from the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI from London with relation to Brexit.

“We welcome the indication on the part of the British Government that they will also guarantee the rights of Hungarians in the event of the UK exiting the European Union without an agreement, but Hungary has an interest in an ordered Brexit”, Mr. Takács underlined.

The Minister of State, who is beginning an official visit to Great Britain lasting several days, said it was important for Hungarian communities in Britain to also receive precise information from the Government with relation to what will be happening with their acquired rights in the United Kingdom following Brexit. “The conditions of Britain’s exit are still taking shape”, he noted.

Mr. Takács will be meeting with high-ranked British politicians, analysts, and the heads of research institutes, and will be holding a community forum, in addition to which he will also be taking part in 15 March commemorations while in Britain.

“The Hungarian Government is not using the adjectives soft or hard with relation to Brexit, but it supports a fair and balanced exit”, he emphasised.

“The more relations exist between the 27 member states of the European Union and the British, the better for Central Europe, too. Hungary and the British have always shared a similar EU policy”, he added.

He also spoke about the fact that Hungary would be glad to see Hungarians living in Great Britain return home, and is creating suitable conditions to enable as many people as possible to do so, but in the meantime, it also regards the rights they have acquired in the UK as extremely important.

Mr. Takács highlighted the fact that Brexit is not the cause of the political crisis affecting the European Union, but the other way around, “Brexit is a symptom of the proliferation of instruments and political manipulation that are unfit to lead the EU”.

“Migration is one of the most determining issues affecting the security of the European Union is recent years, with relation to which security and the fight against terrorism were also discussed, and with relation to which there will be a continued need for British expertise, meaning that maintaining close relations is also vital with relation to the security of the European people”, the Minister of State said.

With relation to the 15 March Hungarian national holiday, Mr. Takács said: “Freedom and independence are the clearest messages of 1848”.

According to the Minister of State, Hungary cannot allow “imperial institutions that are overreaching their spheres of competence to a major extent to force it” to forego its national sovereignty and its border protection, or to give up its identity.

On the subject of the May European Parliament (EP) elections, he added: “The greatest faultline in Europe is currently between those who support a Europe of nations, families and work, and the ‘globalist cosmopolitans’ who support the ideal of an open society”.

In this battle “we must protect and further the heritage of the Hungarian heroes of 1848”, he added.

Repeating the standpoint of the Hungarian Government, he stated: “True solidarity isn’t enticing huge numbers of people into a totally alien environment  with the deceptive hope of a better life, but if assistance is taken to where the problem is”.

According to Mr. Takács, Europe is at a crossroads, and what is at stake at the EP elections is whether the people choose “a diverse and competitive Europe comprised of nation states, or self-surrender”.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)