Hungarian interior minister wants stricter border control, offers help

Interior Minister Sándor Pintér highlighted the importance of the protection of the external borders of the European Union and of in-depth controls within the bloc, at a press conference held after a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) in Brussels on Thursday.

At a press conference held on Thursday evening together with Magnus Brunner, the commissioner for internal affairs and migration, Pintér said that it was of “historic” importance that the Schengen integration process of Bulgaria and Romania had been completed, “after negotiations spanning almost a decade”.

Their integration into the Schengen Area was the most important achievement of the Hungarian EU presidency, he said.

After the decision, the meeting reviewed the inter-operability of IT systems with the Schengen Area’s associated members, especially in view of a planned border registration system, Pintér said.

Photo: MTI

Although the full-scale introduction of the automatic IT system for registering the border crossings of third country citizens is being delayed, the JHA reiterated its commitment to set up a schedule to minimise the damage caused, he said. “The goal is to finish [work on] interoperability by 2027.”

The council also pledged to reinforce Greece’s borders with Türkiye and Bulgaria, as well as the stretch between Bulgaria and Türkiye. The latter will receive a contingent of over 100 Hungarian, Romanian and Austrian troops, he added.

Besides border protection, controls will be strengthened within the EU too. Hungary will maintain “secondary border control” on its Romanian border until June 30, just as Austria does on its Hungarian border, he added.

Fake asylum seekers have no place in Hungary, the interior minister said

Asked whether Hungary could request to suspend granting asylum requests similarly to other EU member states, Pintér noted that Hungary has no joint borders with Belarus or Russia as Poland and other countries do, that pointed to a threat of hybrid warfare.

Meanwhile, Hungary’s borders remain open to Ukrainian refugees, he said. “Those coming from other countries on the old Silk Road will continue to be turned away, and if they do get in, there is no way they will be granted asylum without unequivocal proof of persecution,” Pintér said.

“We accept real refugees, but fake asylum seekers have no place in Hungary,” he said.

The ministers also tabled legislation proposal on the fight against the sexual abuse of children, “but we couldn’t achieve results there. I hope that the Polish presidency will be more successful on that topic, as it is about our future, our children,” he said.

The council also discussed opportunities for cooperation with third countries on migration challenges, he said. They also reviewed semi-annual reports of European security and intelligence agencies, including that of the Hungarian anti-terrorism and constitutional protection offices, he said.

They then adopted strategic directives, and the council’s priorities in domestic and judicial cooperation in the new cycle, “an outstanding achievement for the Hungarian presidency and the council itself, as it was the first such document adopted in a decade,” he said.

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