“Hungary recognises the ruling of the European Court of Justice, but it does not agree with it at all, and from several perspectives the legal and political battle against the EU’s refugee quotas are only just the beginning”, Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said in Brussels.
At an international press conference in the Belgian capital, Mr. Kovács stressed: “With relation to the migration crisis, Hungary is one of very few EU member states to have done everything possible in the interests of fulfilling its obligations”.
“Hungary has a clean conscience. We can see that Hungarian border security measures are working. It has been proven that the Hungarian proposals are viable”, he said.
“The Hungarian Government rejects this new, one-sided and biased idea of solidarity, which reduces the definition of the concept solely to participation in the quota system”, he said.
The Spokesperson pointed out that the EU treaties do not define the concept of solidarity, but according to the Hungarian Government, one of its most important measures is whether or not a country conforms to existing regulations, and while doing so Hungary has spent 883 million euros on border protection over the past two years, with which it has not only defended itself, but also protected other countries such as Austria and Germany.
“This is just the extraordinary expenditure, and although it may include the cost of constructing the border security fence, this is by no means the majority of the amount, and accordingly Hungary expects the other member states and the EU’s institutions to show solidarity”, he added.
“It would also be in the European Union’s interests to display a sober attitude in view of the fact that the migration situation continues to be unsustainable”, Mr. Kovács also declared.
“It is incomprehensible why the EU wants to force something that several countries clearly reject onto its member states. We need decision-making based on consensus, and rational decisions that can be implemented”, he stated.
In reply to a question from the press, the Government Spokesperson said that according to currently valid EU treaties there can be no question that Hungary will eventually introduce the Euro, but this is not currently in the country’s interests, there is still much work to do.