Minister László Trócsányi’s negotiating partners spoke with praise about the fact that Hungary is handling the refugee issue in the spirit of the Dublin III Regulation, Mr. Trócsányi told Hungarian news agency MTI in a telephone statement on 31 August.
The Hungarian Minister of Justice arrived in Berlin at the invitation of his German counterpart Heiko Maas, in addition to which he also met with State Secretary Günter Krings from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Chief Advisor on Europe, Uwe Corsepius.
The main subject of discussion at the meetings was the refugee situation that has developed not just in Hungary, but also in Germany. In his statement, Mr. Trócsányi stressed that his German negotiating partners spoke with praise about the fact that Hungary is handling the refugee issue in the spirit of the Dublin III Regulation. They made it understood that they know Hungary is under extreme pressure and is holding its ground and doing everything possible to act according to the rule of law. Mr. Trócsányi informed his German counterpart about the situation that has developed at Budapest’s Keleti railway station and the crowds of refugees wanting to travel on to Germany, noting that official German communication on the issue has not been consistent and satisfactory. The Minister asked that Berlin take a clear stance on whether it was prepared to receive the refugees awaiting in Hungary or not.
The Germans denied reports that they would be sending a special train to Budapest to transport asylum seekers to Germany and stated that all refugees must register themselves in Hungary in accordance with Dublin III requirements. The negotiating partners agreed that safeguarding the Schengen Agreement is extremely important. Minister Trócsányi stated that Budapest wishes to handle the issue within the framework provided for by law, namely that the construction of the border fence and the establishment of transit zones along Hungary’s border with Serbia is being performed in the interests of protecting the external border of the Schengen Area.
Mr. Maas mentioned the issue of possible refugee quotas and German calls for immigrants to be distributed throughout Europe. In reply, Mr. Trócsányi said that while the borders of the European Union are inadequate, there is no point in talking about quotas, adding that Europe should work on eliminating the causes of the current wave of refugees, in addition to which borders must be properly patrolled and suitable refugee-related public administration regulations need to be developed. The Minister mentioned that the Hungarian Parliament would be amending various pieces of legislation in view of the fact that Hungary is in a state of emergency because of the refugee situation. The German party took note of the fact and said that the German government would continue to monitor the situation closely. The Germans also noted that they are expecting the arrival of 800 thousand or more immigrants by the end of the year and would only be able to assist Hungary in handling its problem accordingly.