Minister of State for EU Affairs Szabolcs Takács received his Slovenian counterpart State Secretary Iztok Mirosic on Wednesday. At the meeting the parties reviewed their positions concerning the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the challenge posed by the migration crisis, the importance of the protection of the external borders, the prospects of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans and the issue of the Posted Workers Directive.
In the context of the Multiannual Financial Framework the parties agreed that conventional policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy significantly contribute to the success of the European Union, and therefore the financing of these policies must be maintained also beyond 2020. In addition to the fact that the funds provided under these policies ensure the sustainability of European agriculture and help less advanced Member States to reduce their disadvantage, they also play an important role in the obstacle-free operation of the internal market which is the engine of European competitiveness and economic growth.
Mr Takács stressed that larger sums will have to be allocated to the management of the crises which have emerged in recent years. However, these funds will have to be used for financing programmes which offer viable responses to the individual challenges. Bearing this in mind, in the management of the migration crisis we must focus on the protection of the external borders, while in the interest of the region’s security funds will also have to be allocated to the accession of the countries of the Western Balkans as part of an allocation extending to the end of 2027.
Regarding migration Mr Takács said that the EU must concentrate primarily on the protection of the external borders. The past three years have proved that the relocation mechanism does not offer an adequate response to the problems caused by migration, and in actual fact it encourages masses of people to set out for Europe in the hope of a better life. In consequence, Hungary continues to find the relocation mechanism unacceptable.
Both parties agreed that the maintenance of internal Schengen border controls does not contribute to the management of illegal migration, violates fundamental EU freedoms and has a negative effect on competitiveness. Therefore the termination of these border control measures is a priority for both countries. The parties also agreed that the flow of migration must be stopped outside Europe, and in this effort the EU must support both Turkey and its Western Balkans partners and the countries of North Africa. In the context of the global migration package, Mr Takács highlighted that EU institutions cannot speak on behalf of the Member States at UN forums as long as there is no unanimously adopted EU position approved by all Member States.
In the talks regarding the review of the Posted Workers Directive, both Slovenia and Hungary have a vested interest in ensuring that special rules apply to the road transport sector which take full account of the economic interests of the transport sector. We continue to remain mutually interested in close Slovenian-Hungarian cooperation in the interest of the reassuring settlement of this issue. The Slovenian party agreed that businesses active in the transport sector cannot be required to fulfil administrative expectations which evidently cannot be met.
Both parties stressed that our governments treat the EU accession and European integration of the countries of the Western Balkans as a priority. Based on this premise, they agreed that the EU-Western Balkans summit to be held in Sofia in May will be of the utmost importance and will create an opportunity. Therefore the closing declaration to be adopted at this summit will have to convey a credible political message to the region and define specific target dates.