Budapest, November 9 (MTI) – The causes of mass migration need to be addressed locally to ensure that people are not forced to leave their home countries, Hungary’s justice minister said in Budapest on Wednesday.

Identifying the causes of mass migration is in the interest of every country, László Trócsányi said at an international conference on migration organised by a scientific council of the interior ministry.

The minister said that having “one or two continents” trying to solve “all of the world’s problems” was an ineffective way of dealing with issues like migration.

To resolve the problem of migration, it is first necessary to come to a consensus on the definitions of terms ‘immigrant’ and ‘refugee’, Trócsányi said. The Geneva Conventions are the main basis for establishing the rights of refugees, he noted. But when it comes to immigration policy, European Union member states aim to ensure this remains a national competency. As it stands, the EU is divided over whether the concept of migration policy exists at all, he added.

Trócsányi noted Hungary’s stance on migration that international obligations and laws must be observed. Hungary has adhered to the Dublin rules by registering some 200,000 migrants, he insisted, adding that the same could not be said of all EU countries. Trócsányi warned that if the EU failed to protect the external borders of the Schengen zone, member states may have to impose policies that could potentially restrict people’s freedom of movement.

Photo: Balázs Béli

Source: MTI