Parliamentary State Secretary at the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister Csaba Dömötör said that after the tragedy in Brussels, even Leftist parties cannot deny anymore that there is a clear connection between unlimited migration and the threat of terrorism.
“Europe is facing extremely serious security challenges and isolating ourselves is not a good solution at such times; both the European Union and NATO must be open to new alliances and partnerships”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest following negotiations with his Georgian counterpart.
Statement by the Ministry of Interior.
On Monday, 28 March – after making a visit to the border near Ásotthalom together with the National Police Commissioner’s Deputy for Public Order Maj.-Gen. Zsolt Halmosi – Chief of Defence Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő stated that “the soldiers serving on the border are well-prepared and motivated. Their core task is to support the work of the police.”
On Friday, Minister of State for Government Communication Bence Tuzson told public television channel M1 that it is a secondary issue whether or not Hungary’s plan to combat terrorism is accepted internationally. What is important is that its provisions can guarantee the safety of Hungary’s citizens.
On Saturday, György Bakondi, Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister told public television channel M1 that general cooperation between secret services is not an option, but real time exchange of information must be established to combat terrorism.
Hungary strongly condemns the appalling attack in Lahore on 27 March 2016 targeting the local Christian community celebrating a religious holiday.
Speaking in the program “Mokka” of TV2 channel on the morning of Friday, 25 March, the Minister of Defence stated that all means must be used against terrorists. Dr. István Simicskó also underlined that the counter-terrorism action plan of the government does not include any baseless measures that violate the principle of proportionality.
After an extraordinary meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council in Brussels on 24 March, Minister of State Barna Berke told Hungarian news agency MTI that “In addition to expressing solidarity and support, the joint statement adopted by the JHA Council also focused on tightening cooperation and the importance of information sharing”.
“There is no more time to waste, decision-making shall be accelerated”, said Minister of State Barna Berke prior to the extraordinary meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) in Brussels on 24 March. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, the Netherlands presidency has convened an extraordinary meeting of ministers for justice and security and representatives of the EU institutions.