“It is becoming increasingly good to be Hungarian in Brussels, because more and more Member States of the European Union are adopting Hungary’s stance on migration, which it has been representing since the very beginning of the crisis”, Szabolcs Takács declared following a session of the Council of Ministers discussing general EU affairs in Brussels.
The Office of the Prime Minister’s Minister of State for EU Affairs explained: “The results achieved at last Friday’s summit of EU heads of state and government in Malta are positive in view of the fact that they call for the reinforcement of the European Union’s external borders and wish to handle the causes of migration outside the borders of Europe, thus tangibly decreasing migration pressure”.
“However, we must also recognise that the European Commission and a few Member States are still insisting on introducing the mandatory relocation quota”, the Minister of State said.
Mr. Takács stressed that free movement within the European Union should not be restricted for any reason, including Brexit or migration, because that would endanger one of the rights that is most valued by EU citizens.
Hungary does not agree with measures aimed at restricting free movement, although based on the recommendation of the European Commission the Ministers at the current meeting authorised the temporary extension of the border controls introduced by a few EU Member States by a further three months, Mr. Takács pointed out.
“Nobody has the right to restrict the free movement of EU citizens because of Brexit”, he added. “It must be proven what level of added value workers from Eastern and Central Europe mean to Europe’s general competitiveness, and to what level they contribute to the economic growth of a given country”, he declared.
With relation to the programme for the following summit of EU heads of state and government in March, the Minister of State said that Europe’s leaders would like to confirm their previous decision to increase the EU’s defence capabilities. This would be in line with our commitments towards NATO and would also provide Europe with a reassuring vision with regard to both internal and external security”, Mr. Takács emphasised.