As of midnight, Hungary will close the Hungarian-Croatian green border, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced at his press conference held in Budapest on Friday, after the meeting of the national security cabinet.
The Minister stated: the border crossing stations will continue to operate on the Hungarian-Croatian border, subject to more stringent controls. Asylum claims may be submitted in two transit zones, in the regions of Beremend and Letenye.
Mr Szijjártó told the press that they expect similar results of the closure of the Hungarian-Croatian green border to those which have been yielded by the same measures implemented on the Serbian border section earlier.
According to the Minister’s information, they have notified the Croatian Ambassador to Budapest of the closure of the green border who expressed disappointment, and they have further informed the foreign ministers of the countries in the region, including the diplomatic leaders of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia and Austria, as well as the minister of Bavaria responsible for international cooperation. The Foreign Ministry of Germany has also been notified.
As the Minister pointed out, the Foreign Ministers of the Visegrád countries reassured Hungary of their support, the Austrian Foreign Minister thanked the Government for the notification, and if his information is correct, the competent members of the Slovenian Government are currently conducting consultations regarding the measures which may be necessary in the present situation.
Mr Szijjártó stated in reasoning the decision of the national security cabinet: no decision was adopted at the meeting of the European Council on Thursday which would have permitted the protection of the external borders of the EU with a joint EU force, despite the fact that this would have been the best solution.
“If the EU does indeed wish to find a common response to the pressure of immigration, it should or should have set up a joint European force in order for Europe to be able to protect the external borders of Greece”, he said.
The Minister further drew attention to the fact that it was also made clear at the summit of the European Council: the EU continues to expect the Member States to protect the Schengen borders. It is evident, however, that Greece fails to meet this expectation, in contrast to Hungary, he added.
Mr Szijjártó takes the view that the closure of the Croatian-Hungarian green border is the second best solution because the best solution – the protection of the external borders of Greece – fell through. At the same time, he remarked that should events in the EU take such a turn that a common European force is set up for the protection of the external borders of Greece, there will be obviously no further need for the second best solution.
He highlighted that the other three Member States of the Visegrád cooperation, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are providing help with the protection of Hungary’s southern border.
The Minister said regarding the meeting of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held in Brussels on Thursday: naturally, the flood of immigration was also on the agenda where the Hungarian Prime Minister made it clear that should the best solution fall through, Hungary will be compelled to resort to the second best one.
In answer to the question whether the possibility of a similar measure to that which was implemented on the Hungarian-Serbian border and will be implemented on the Hungarian-Croatian border section has been considered in relation to Slovenia, Mr Szijjártó said: Slovenia is a Schengen Member State, and a physical obstacle may only be built between two Schengen Member States in circumstances of great need, with the agreement of the two countries. He stressed: this is not on the agenda in the case of the Hungarian-Slovenian border section.
Regarding the Hungarian-Romanian border, the Minister told the press: they will continuously monitor the directions of the routes of immigration in Serbia. Preparations for the construction of a fence have already begun on a section of the Hungarian-Romanian border “of a reasonable length”, but they see no reason at this point in time for starting the actual construction of the fence, he said.
In answer to a question concerning the elections to be held in Croatia in the near future, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: the laws of Europe do not depend on the results of national elections. He pointed out: “we are not interfering with the campaign in Croatia; it is the Croatian Prime Minister who continually attempts to drag us into it”.