Foreign minister addresses seasonal meeting of Hungarian diplomats – UPDATE

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó met members of the Hungarian diplomatic corps for regular autumn consultations on Monday.

Addressing the heads of Hungary’s various embassies and consulate generals, the Minister spoke about the fact that the security policy challenge in Europe will increase, and the issue of immigration will remain a sharp line of separation between member states.

“A few years ago it was inconceivable that the most peaceful part of the world, Western Europe, would experience the highest threat of terrorism, and the images of the Middle East we have often seen on the news will happen in our immediate environment”, he said.

“In many cases the world has changed in the direction that we Hungarians indicated in advance, often against the mainstream”, said Mr. Szijjártó, adding that it is important for there to be a common guideline to which we can adhere to in the midst of rapid changes. “This guideline continues to be Hungary’s interests”, he declared.

The Minister said one of the lessons of recent years was that those who “give in” in these difficult times that are racked with changes, are “mowed down”.

“Firstly, they are forced do things that they do not want to do, and secondly they are regarded as a punching bag”, the Minister explained, highlighting that as has been the case so far, Hungary would not like to have to endure either.

According to Mr. Szijjártó, we must also prepare for the possibility that the existing disputes will persist and in fact increase in the upcoming period, because the factors that are causing them are not moving towards a solution.

“The solutions to illegal immigration are clearly not converging, although communication elements similar to the Hungarian standpoint can now also be observed in the West”, he said.

Mr. Szijjártó listed amongst these the fact that illegal immigrants must be distinguished from refugees, European defence begins with border protection, and the fact that the decision on who can enter Europe must be made outside Europe. “Far from glorious adjectives were flung at us” previously for such statements, he noted.

The Minister also drew attention to the fact that there will soon be elections in several European countries. “The attempts to involve Hungary in the campaigns are clearly visible, and accordingly we must keep our wits about us; the statements must be handled according to their true significance, and we must always defend Hungary”, he declared, adding that “We must not allow the country to be unfairly and undeservedly criticised in an often disgraceful manner for domestic policy reasons”.

Mr. Szijjártó also said that major dogmas were being toppled. “Western Europe is no longer the safest part of the world, in addition to which many social integration models have proven to be complete failures”, he said, citing as an example of the latter the fact that a significant number of the terrorist attacks Europe has suffered were perpetrated by people whose ancestors were born outside Europe, but who themselves were already born in Europe.

“The integration of immigrant families and communities has in many cases been unsuccessful, and parallel societies have come about in several places in the Western half of Europe”, he added.