Migration Chief Agenda of Hungary’s Rotating EU Presidency

Although the country holding the rotating presidency of the European Union represents the whole community, it has the opportunity to put issues on the agenda that are important to it. For Hungary, the most important of these is the management of the migration situation, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of European Union Affairs said on Thursday.

Barna Pál Zsigmond said this in connection with the fact that Hungary will hold the rotating presidency of the EU in the second half of 2024.
Since 2015, the government has been stressing the need to protect external borders, he said. An institutional system must be set up to protect Europe from illegal migration, unlike what is happening now with the migration pact.

Other important objectives of the Hungarian presidency include tackling the demographic situation, the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU, and maintaining competitiveness, as Europe seems to be lagging behind in global competition. This is not only an economic issue, but also a social and labor issue, he continued.
In response to the question of whose interests the EU’s current migrant policy is in, when in the space of a single week a synagogue was attempted to be set on fire in Germany, a stabbing occured in France, and there was a shooting in Belgium, yet migrants continue to arrive in Europe, Zsigmond said that Hungary has always advocated that

the European institutional system and legislation should not act as a magnet for illegal migrants.

Member States can make decisions individually to protect the border. However, when it comes to deciding how to defend the common border, “wisdom runs out,” but all it takes is political will, said Zsigmond.
Hungary will hold the presidency in a trio, together with Spain, which will hold the post from July to the end of December this year, and Belgium, which will hold it from January to the end of June next year.

Featured Image: Facebook/Migrants Situation