Hungary wants its contribution to the European Peace Facility to be used to stabilize the Western Balkans and fight illegal migration.Continue reading
Balázs Orbán, the prime minister’s political director outlined the Hungarian government’s position on migration and the war in Ukraine after the first day of the EU summit which began on Thursday.
At a press conference in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the EU-level agreement to provide 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukrainian forces within a year.
As the Hungarian foreign minister and defense minister have previously stated, Hungary does not supply weapons to Ukraine either from its own stockpile or from joint EU procurement. It only participates in the joint EU procurement with the aim of replenishing its own reserves.
This was also confirmed by Balázs Orbán’s statement that joining the European Defence Agency Framework Agreement is only for the Hungarian Defense Forces’ own strategic ammunition needs.
Hungary’s position remains unchanged: we are on the side of peace. We believe that in order to avoid escalation, an immediate ceasefire, negotiations, and a peace agreement with a long-term settlement are necessary,”
he reminded.
On migration, the political director said that Hungary believes that without a demographic turnaround and a new generation of Europeans, Europe’s competitiveness will not be ensured.
We need European children, we need a new generation of Europeans,”
Balázs Orbán said. He stressed that, in Hungary’s view, immigration cannot be the basis for growth, because it causes far more problems than it solves.
On the European Commission’s proposal to finance the purchase of physical protection equipment to strengthen border controls, he said that despite the proposal, “we cannot talk about a breakthrough”. According to Balázs Orbán, a breakthrough would be if Hungary received financial and legal assistance for the creation of a southern border barrier to protect Europe’s external borders, which deters hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants every year.
Featured photo via Facebook/Orbán Viktor