EU should help Libya with border control, says Minister Szijjártó

The European Union should provide assistance to Libya so that the country could protect its borders against illegal migration, the foreign minister said in a video published on Facebook on Monday.

Péter Szijjártó met his Libyan counterpart in Luxembourg, and said after the talks that Libya had become a transit country for “tens and hundreds of thusands of illegal migrants heading for Europe”.

Concerning Libya’s upcoming general elections, Szijjártó said the elections offered a “chance for stability and peace”.

The minister criticised “various NGOs and so-called human rights groups” that he said were “trying to prevent the Libyan government from fighting illegal migration”.

Szijjártó noted that the Visegrad Group had offered a donation of 35 million euros in 2017 to reinforce Libya’s coast guard but suggested that the funds were delayed “because of Brussels”.

“The European Union should put together a serious financial package to promote controls along the southern borders of Libya,” Szijjártó said.

• PM Orbán: “the borders can’t be protected with flower bouquets, teddy bears and welcoming committees!”

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