Hungary has three proposals for the management of the migrant crisis, as the problem does not only affect Hungary and Serbia but the whole of the European Union, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated in Belgrade on Friday after he had talks with Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic and Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Nebojsa Stefanovic.
Mr Szijjártó mentioned as the first option that an EU force should be set up which is capable of protecting the borders of Greece against the flood of migrants, and to this end it is necessary for Greece to make it clear how many border guards, soldiers, boats and helicopters it needs. He stressed: the Hungarian Government supports the identification of quotas on this issue. The burdens should be distributed 28 ways with a view to protecting the Greek border.
As the second option, the Minister proposed that the European Union should take over the funding of the already existing refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, and should build new ones so that those forced to leave their homes due to the fighting should not flee all the way to Europe, and so that they may swiftly return after the end of the war. The Hungarian Government takes the view that there could be quotas regarding this measure as well, or the EU budget could be changed accordingly.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a further option could be that the European Union provides financial assistance for the countries situated on the transit route of migrants, Macedonia and Serbia.
Mr Szijjártó further stressed that the fence erected on the Hungarian-Serbian border has nothing to do with Serbia as a new border crossing station was opened only in the summer; the purpose of the measure was for Hungary to curb illegal migration.
He added: Hungary seeks to ensure that the greatest challenge of the European Union to date should not lead to the deterioration of Hungarian-Serbian relations.
What the Hungarian and Serbian Prime Ministers said after the joint cabinet meeting held in Budapest is still valid: relations between Serbia and Hungary have never been better, Mr Szijjártó pointed out. He said: if this were not the case, the current extremely serious challenges would pose major problems for both countries.
He stressed that this is the greatest challenge of the European Union to date because this is not a refugee crisis but a mass migration on an unprecedented scale which will not end within the foreseeable future as it has inexhaustible succession reserves.
The Minister reiterated that the volume of Hungarian-Serbian trade broke records last year, and it is also in Hungary’s best interest to reopen the closed borders. This may take place if the Serbian police succeed in abating the pressure of migration at this border crossing point.
Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic, too, shares the view that Hungarian-Serbian relations have never been better. He added: his country would not like to see any kind of division, but we must act in a fair manner towards the migrants as well as neighbouring countries.
He said: this migration is one of the greatest crises since World War II, and Serbia is in a difficult position because it finds itself between two sides of the EU: Hungary is complaining that migrants are entering the EU from Serbia, but they are arriving in Serbia from the EU. In addition, the EU is not united on this issue.
“Serbia cannot fall victim to the fact that there is no united EU view”, he said.
Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Nebojsa Stefanovic pointed out that 150,000 migrants had been registered in Serbia this year. He added that the situation had stabilised at the Horgos-Röszke border crossing station, and Serbia is ready to reopen the border crossing station on the M5 motorway as soon as on Saturday.
The Hungarian authorities imposed a legal border closure on the Hungarian-Serbian border at zero hundred hours on Tuesday in order to curb the migrant flood. Migrants clashed with the Hungarian police at the old Röszke border crossing station on Wednesday. According to Hungarian data, more than 200,000 migrants have arrived in Hungary this year, and more than 172,000 of them have submitted asylum applications.