Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér and Minister of Justice László Trócsányi both gave speeches at the meeting of Interior Ministers of countries with inland Schengen borders in Szeged, which ended with the adoption of a joint statement on 13 May 2016.
At the press conference following the discussions, Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér said the goal of the meeting was to ensure that countries with external Schengen borders provide similar solutions to challenges and assist each other’s efforts; this means both the sharing of best practices and the regrouping of forces and equipment if required. A good example of this was when Member States provided significant manpower to help Slovenia protect its external borders, he added. The Ministers attending the meeting were briefed on Hungarian practices, on how the Hungarian authorities are protecting the European Union’s external borders in accordance with Schengen regulations and how they are handling the acceptance of requests for asylum, he said.
Minister of Justice László Trócsányi stressed the importance of adhering to and enforcing regulations. Many countries have failed to fulfil the stipulations of the Dublin Regulation, as a result of which Hungary has had to register more than 190 thousand people. Regulations must also be effective: only 1145 people out of the 160 thousand set down in last September’s European Council resolution on the compulsory resettlement quota have in fact been resettled, he said. Efficient and successful regulations are, however, being introduced at a national level, he said, citing as an example the Hungarian measures introduced to handle the crisis posed by mass immigration, an example which was followed by several other European countries.
Enforcing asylum regulations within a rationalised framework is in the interests of every Member State, Mr. Trócsányi declared, pointing out that there is a need for cooperation between Member States, and similarly between people arriving in Europe and the authorities.
Estonian Minister of Interior Hanno Pevkur said joint decisions should serve to reinforce the Schengen Area, not weaken it. He called the restructuring of the Dublin Regulation a significant challenge and expressed his hope that a joint standpoint is successfully reached at the next EU summit and member states are able to make it clear to the Commission what principles they are following. Each Member State is not only protecting its own country but also the whole Schengen Area, he said. Improving the protection of external borders requires a major investment, not only with regard to equipment, but also manpower. Estonia is spending 100 million euros on reinforcing border protection. However, we also expect the EU to recognise the importance of protecting external borders and accordingly provide additional funding to all affected Member States, the Estonian Minister said.
Latvian Minister of Interior Rihards Kozlovskis declared that the migration crisis and terrorism pose a major threat to Europe and this is why protecting our borders is of extreme importance. One of the priorities of the Latvian Government is the reinforcement of its 1500kms of border, which is also the external border of the Schengen Area, he added. According to Lithuanian Minister of Interior Tomas Zilinskas, who is responsible for protecting over a thousand kilometres of the European Union’s external borders, we require the further development of the Dublin Regulation, not its revolutionary reform.
Norwegian Interior Secretary Ove André Vanebo stressed the importance of coordination and harmony between Member States. Norway is ready to protect the EUs external borders and accordingly is planning to construct a fence in cooperation with the Russian authorities, he said. Polish Interior Secretary Jakub Skiba declared that Poland is supporting the establishment of a European border control force and coast guard agency at the Frontex base. The new agency could be based in Poland, similarly to Frontex.
Romanian Interior Secretary Tiberiu Trifan said Romania had spent significant sums of money to protect its borders and had upgraded its airports and consulates. Romania’s efforts must also be acknowledged at European level, assuring its early accession to the Schengen Area, he added. Slovakian Home Affairs Attaché Juráj Bukus said Slovakia was supporting all instruments that are capable of putting a stop to the arrival of illegal immigrants.
According to the Joint Statement issued during the meeting, the participating countries agree that the migration crisis and terrorism pose the greatest threat to the security of Europe and are contributing to the greatest crisis the Schengen Area has experienced so far.
The Member States regard the free flow of persons and goods within the Schengen Area as one of the most important achievements of European integration and are committed to maintaining them. Accordingly, they regard as important the heightened control of Schengen and EU external borders to which end assistance must be provided to those countries that have had to bear a disproportionately large burden as a result of the migration crisis, in addition to which cooperation with third countries is also required.
The Statement also states that the setting up of a European Border Control Force and the strengthening of the mandate of the European Border Control Agency are both important elements of the European border management system. IT systems must see continued development and their shortcomings must be eliminated. However, the comprehensive introduction of the systematic monitoring of people with the right to free movement within a database and the establishment of an EU border registration system places a disproportionately large burden on Member States who apply the Schengen Regulations along their external borders, and accordingly several relief elements are required, especially in the case of inland borders.
According to the Member States, the European External Action Service must intensify its cooperation in the interests of facilitating the return of immigrants to third countries, the Statement reads.