The migration crisis is not just a temporary humanitarian challenge, but the precursor of a mass migration movement, the State Secretary for EU Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office stated at a forum in Budapest on Wednesday.
Szabolcs Takács said in his speech opening the security policy conference of the Antall József Knowledge Centre that this challenge will remain with us in the years and decades ahead.
The State Secretary takes the view that the European Union is facing one of the most difficult crisis situations in its history in the form of the migration crisis. One may observe an enormous gap between "the principle of helping everyone” and the approach of preserving our own security and stability, he said.
He stressed: the migration crisis is a global problem, and in order to resolve it, we need a global response. The crisis zones concerned must be stabilised. From a European viewpoint, we must under any circumstances seize control on the exterior borders of the EU, and it is equally important to cooperate with the transit countries, he added. In his view, the EU agreement concluded with Turkey in March with a view to the management of the migration crisis "may represent an appropriate, sustainable and effective step towards a long-term solution”.
Mr Takács pointed out that the principal objective would be to resolve the problem in the countries which people want to leave in masses. He also highlighted that we must equally concentrate on the fight against extremist groups as these groups have forged advantages for themselves from the situation which emerged in the wake of the Arab Spring. In reference to a publication released by Europol on Wednesday, he said that ninety per cent of the migrants who came to Europe arrived on the continent with the assistance of the international network of human traffickers. Mr Takács highlighted: finding a solution "is our joint responsibility and interest”, not only in Europe, but in the Middle-East region as well.
"We believe that the EU owes responsibility to the countries which are facing crises at present. Our goal is to support these countries”, Mr Takács said. He reiterated that the EU Member States supported the governments which came into power after the Arab Spring, and were hoping that the nations living there would see a better future. Despite these hopes, we may observe that, in most cases, the situation which has emerged reflects signs of destabilisation, and "regrettably, several countries have lost control”, he said.
Frank Spengler, Head of the Hungarian Representation of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung said that the international community has failed to prevent crimes against humanity and large-scale massacre in the Middle-East. Millions of people have been forced to flee war zones, and the consequences of a war in a remote location have suddenly emerged in the heart of Europe, he added. In his view, these developments "are putting the solidarity and integration capability of a number of European countries to the test”.
Senior university lecturer Erzsébet N. Rózsa working at the International Relations and Security Studies Department of the National Public Service University highlighted that the United States has lost a great deal of its influence in the region, and after the Arab Spring, the transformation of the region is practically taking place without the EU. "At this point in time, the EU does not yet have genuine influence over the direction the region should pursue”, she said.
The conference organised by the Antall József Knowledge Centre was held under the title "State, Human and Economic Security: Challenges of the Middle-East, Turkey and the European Union in the Aftermath of the Arab Awakening”.