Like the Hungarian government, Poland’s government is being “attacked” on the international stage because its successful patriotic policies go against the liberal mainstream, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Vienna on Friday.
Addressing a press conference ahead of a meeting with his Austrian, Czech, Slovak and Slovenian counterparts, Szijjártó said the central European countries had been among the first to relaunch their economies following the coronavirus crisis.
The minister said security would be crucial for preserving growth in the region. He warned, however, that Europe was facing significant security challenges such as growing migration waves. Part of that has to do with the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan and the fact that migrants are no longer coming to Europe just from the south and southeast, but also from the east, Szijjártó said.
As long as mandatory migrant settlement quotas are on the European Union’s agenda, “even covertly”, and as long as border protection is treated as a humanitarian and human rights issue rather than a matter of security, and certain politicians continue to make “irresponsible remarks”, the migration pressure on Europe will not ease, Szijjártó said.
The central European countries will continue to protect Europe, themselves and their borders and will help each other in this regard, he said, adding that some 100,000 illegal migrants have made their way to Europe from the south so far this year. Szijjártó said Hungary was grateful to the other three Visegrad Group countries for aiding its border protection efforts, as well as to Austria for their continuous consultations.
Asked about the recent decision by Poland’s constitutional court against the primacy of EU law, Szijjártó said Poland was being attacked for its successful patriotic policies. The EU treaties are clear on the powers of the EU and member states, and if a given area falls under national competence, it is an area in which national law has primacy, he said.
featured image Péter Szijjártó’s Facebook page