The first steps towards a new strategy could be taken on Thursday at the Budapest summit of European leaders.Continue reading
The Hungarian capital is hosting the biggest diplomatic event in the country’s history, the European Political Community (EPC) summit on November 7. “Europe’s peace, stability and prosperity are under threat,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the plenary session of the EPC meeting.
He noted that the situation in which Europe finds itself is difficult, complex, and dangerous.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (R) receives French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
The politician recalled that Russia’s war against Ukraine had been raging for three years, and that the Middle East, which had been set aflame by terrorist acts, was in danger of escalating. In North Africa, he added, conflicts are destabilizing the region, while illegal migration is a persistent challenge for Europe and is once again approaching peak levels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (C) and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán
Viktor Orbán highlighted that the global economy is again facing the daunting prospect of fragmentation, seen after the Cold War, and this is calling into question the foundations of the European model.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission . Photo: MTI/MTI Fotószerkesztõség/Máthé Zoltán
The summit is bringing together 45-47 heads of state and government on November 7. On Friday, the event will be followed by an EU informal summit attended by EU heads of state and government.
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán emphasized:
this will be the biggest diplomatic event in Hungary’s history, attended not only by EU leaders such as the Germans, French, and Dutch, but also by non-EU countries such as the British, Turks, Caucasians, and the Northern and Western Balkans.
The summit will have to address two issues: the US presidential election and reversing Europe’s declining competitiveness, he added.
Since the morning, politicians and leaders have been arriving at Puskás Arena in Budapest.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (R) receives NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
The arrivals are all welcomed by Viktor Orbán.
Viktor Orbán (R) with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pasinyan. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
Ahead of the meeting, the British Prime Minister’s Office in London issued a statement, emphasizing that in order to implement plans to tackle organized immigration crime, Sir Keir Starmer will sign new agreements with Serbia, Northern Macedonia, and Kosovo at the EPC summit in Hungary to expand intelligence sharing and cooperation between experts to stop criminal groups transporting vulnerable people through these countries.
People smuggling criminal gangs undermine our national security.
Backed by our Border Security Command and alongside our international partners, the UK will be at the heart of efforts to end the scourge of this organised crime.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 7, 2024
According to Downing Street, the aim of these agreements is to detain people smugglers and disrupt their business model, writes Magyar Nemzet. Starmer noted there was a criminal empire operating on the European continent that was already threatening Britain’s national security.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office in London,
the British Prime Minister will chair a special meeting of European leaders on migration at the EPC summit in Budapest, where he will stress the need for a better collective response to organized immigration crime.
Via Magyar Nemzet, MTI; Featured image via MTI/Máthé Zoltán