Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg demands explanation from the Hungarian government.Continue reading
Hungary’s expulsion of imprisoned people smugglers is “not directed against any of its neighbors,” Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Brussels on Monday, according to MTI.
Szijjártó said Austria’s tightening of border controls was nothing new, adding that “Austria has been making entry more and more difficult for months or years.”
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, Szijjártó said he had spoken with his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg, who had indicated that Hungary’s expulsion of people smugglers was problematic for his country. Szijjártó said the Hungarian government had made a “sovereign Hungarian decision that is not directed against any neighboring country” in particular.
He said
people smugglers better not even think about coming to Hungary,”
and promised a continued strict approach to border violators and “people smugglers who encourage, help or transport them.”
Referring to Austria, he said it was becoming increasingly difficult for Hungarians and other nationals to enter Austria, while “Austrians can enter Hungary freely and without waiting [at the border], Hungarians have to wait, sometimes for a long time, before they can enter Austria; their threat to introduce border controls is nothing new.”
Featured photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter
