In an interview with Canadian television station CBC, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that at present Europe must address at least five or six great challenges.
Mr. Szijjártó identified migration, the spread of terrorism, the war in Ukraine, energy security issues and Brexit as historic challenges. “Any one of these at one time would be more than enough”, he said. Regarding the failure of Europe’s free trade negotiations with Canada, the Minister added that “the biggest threat is if Europe isolates itself”.
Regarding the great challenges affecting Europe, the Canadian reporter mentioned Hungary’s standpoint on migration. “Your policy does not seem to be the friendliest”, the reporter said.
In response to this, Mr. Szijjártó said that “there is a huge difference between migration and illegal migration, and on the two sides of the ocean the two might be interpreted differently”. He went on to say that last year some 1.5 million migrants arrived in Europe, and Hungary had to cope with 450,000 migrants. Basically they entered the country by violating borders; the majority of them were aggressive, rejecting all forms of cooperation with local authorities, and they finally left the country in the direction of Germany, Austria and Sweden.
The Minister added that the question is not one of international law or fundamental human rights, because “the right to a safe life is a basic human right, but there is no fundamental human right entitling someone to choose a country in which they would like to live, and to reach that country at any cost – even by violating borders”.
Regarding the issue of the mandatory relocation quotas, Mr. Szijjártó said that common European policy should rather focus on easing the migration pressure on Europe. The Government of Hungary takes the position that we must be able to protect ourselves, and entry to EU territory should be conditional on agreements between European countries and certain nation states. This has not been the case so far, said Mr. Szijjártó, underlining that Hungary has complied with the provisions of the Schengen Agreement.
Mr. Szijjártó also pointed out that the Government of Hungary’s stance is that countries in conflict zones – for example Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey – should be provided with help, so that they can care for those fleeing war. “It is our responsibility to keep refugees as close to their homes as possible, and then help them return home when the situation normalises”, he said.
Finally the Minister said that the fundamental question for a solution to the migrant crisis is resolution of the Syrian crisis. To this end, however, an agreement must be reached between the two major powers involved: the US and Russia.