According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, although Werner Faymann is now saying what Hungary has said all along, he continues to insult the country.
In a statement on Wednesday, Péter Szijjártó reacted to statements by the Austrian Chancellor in Wednesday’s edition of the Austrian daily Kurier, according to which he stands behind the German and Swedish standpoints with relation to the distribution of refugees, whereas on the issue of protecting Europe’s borders he supports the joint standpoint put forward by the Visegrád Group countries. However, he denied being a member of the “Orbán coalition”.
According to Mr. Faymann, in relation to the current measures he will not allow himself “to be compared to someone who does not welcome refugees, does not care for them properly and does not give them fair procedure”. Furthermore, the Austrian Chancellor also said he stands by his previous standpoint according to which EU funding should be reduced in the case of countries that do not contribute to solving the immigration problem.
In response, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade highlighted the fact that the Austrian Chancellor is continuing his “pathetic campaign of lies” against Hungary. “We reject these foolish accusations”; Hungary has always received refugees, but does not welcome economic immigrants, he declared, adding that everyone is given proper care and fair procedure.
Mr. Szijjártó recalled that “last year the Austrian Chancellor was insulting Hungary because of the fence” and announced an open doors policy. But now, he too is building a fence, would like to reinforce Europe’s borders and would prefer to close its doors and instead provide assistance in the crisis zones, he explained. In other words, Werner Faymann is saying exactly what Hungary was already saying a year ago, he pointed out.
The Foreign Minister stressed that parallel to this, however, the Austrian Chancellor continues to insult Hungary and in recent months has shown behaviour that is unfit for a European politician.