Despite patronising voices from older member-states, the EU's popularity in Hungary is above the bloc's average.Continue reading
Hungary is counting on Austria’s support in the fight against illegal migration and in accelerating the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told M1 news channel on Sunday afternoon in Vienna, after talks with his Austrian counterpart.
Following a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, Minister Szijjártó said that he has started consultations to ensure the success of Hungary’s EU Presidency in the second half of 2024. The reason for launching this series of consultations in Vienna is that Austria can be counted on to support the Hungarian Presidency and the Hungarian national interest in two key objectives: the fight against illegal migration, and the acceleration of EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans, he noted.
On illegal migration, he stressed that Austria is one of the EU countries speaking out and taking action against it. “So are we Hungarians. We have already made it clear on numerous occasions that Brussels needs a sharp change of policy so that the European Union stops illegal migrants rather than attracting them,” he said.
The minister recalled that Hungary had gained a lot of experience in this respect, while protecting its own and the EU’s southern border. If the country had not spent billions of euros on this, the hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants stopped at the Hungarian border would all be living here in Europe, further worsening security, increasing the threat of terrorism, and exacerbating the risk of the emergence of dual societies, he explained.
Hungary’s aim is to ensure that European legislation finally respects international law, allowing refugees to reside temporarily in the first safe country,”
he stressed.
Speaking about the EU’s enlargement towards the Western Balkans, he emphasized that the EU needs a new impetus, and the Western Balkan countries can provide it. The European Union needs these countries to join the EU more than they need to be members, so the pace of accession must be accelerated, which is one of the objectives of the Hungarian EU Presidency, he said.
Following the talks with his Austrian counterpart, Szijjártó also met the Secretary General of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the FPÖ politicians who are members of the Hungary-Austria Friendship Group in the Vienna Parliament. The foreign minister wrote on his social media page that they agreed not only on the importance of fighting illegal migration, but also on the need for foreign policy to be based on mutual respect, respect for each other’s sovereignty, and the importance of respectful dialogue.
The Hungarian politician also held talks with the head of the Federation of Austrian Industries. “We must not forget that Austria is not only an important political partner, but also an important economic partner. This is proven by the fact that the Austrian investment community is the second largest in Hungary, and Austria is also our second largest trading partner,” Szijjártó wrote on his social media page.
He added: “Together with Austrian manufacturing leaders, we are now working to break another record this year and exceed last year’s EUR 17 billion trade turnover. This is another guarantee that the Hungarian economy will continue to grow this year.”
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter
