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Viktor Orban meets David Cameron in Budapest – PHOTOS – UPDATE
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Budapest, January 7 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said he is hopeful of finding a solution to the UK’s in-work benefits issue with his British counterpart David Cameron that is acceptable to Hungarian workers while serving the British government’s aims.
After meeting Cameron on Thursday Orban told a joint news conference that they were in agreement that abuses of the benefits system must be eliminated in all EU member states. But the vast majority of Hungarians in the UK are “working honestly” and contribute to Britain’s economy, he said. It is important that Hungarians working in Britain should not suffer discrimination or disadvantages in any form.
At the same time, Hungary is open to all reasonable proposals to put an end to abuses of social services, he added. Hungarians are not migrants in the United Kingdom but EU citizens who can freely work throughout the union, Orban said. Hungarians are not going to the UK to scrounge but because they want to work, he said, citing British statistics showing that 55,000 Hungarians work in the UK. According to Hungarian estimates, the Hungarians working in the UK pay more taxes and other contributions there than they claim in benefits, he added.
Orban said they shared the view that the role of national parliaments in the European Union should be reconsidered and that countries outside the euro zone should get equal treatment in EU institutions.
Britain and Hungary have similar ideas about the EU, Cameron told the press conference. They both want a well-functioning EU, he said. He emphasised the importance of subsidiarity, rules of fair play and equal treatment given to member states inside and outside the euro zone.
On other matters, Orban assured Cameron that Hungary, as a NATO partner, is committed to further taking part in international actions in Syria and Iraq.
On the topic of Hungary-UK relations, Orban said they were fine, and he mentioned that the UK is the fifth biggest investor in Hungary, with 700 British companies present employing 50,000 people.
On the subject of migration, the Hungarian PM said a sober mind dictated that every responsible government should protect its own citizens. Hungary wants to uphold the Schengen agreement and in doing so it must protect the Schengen borders.
The ruling Fidesz party said the British PM had expressed agreement with Hungary’s position that protecting Europe’s borders is paramount, In statement made after Cameron’s meeting with Orban, Fidesz said the two leaders had made it clear that they see the future of Europe as strong nation states in a strong Europe. Europe and its external borders need to be protected because migration already threatens European citizens’ safety, free movement and their freedom on the labour market, it added.
Magyar pólus két testvér SZCZECIN,POLAND