EU summit in Malta – Orbán: New Italy government could help stop migrants

Valletta, February 3 (MTI) – The wave of illegal immigrants could be stopped outside the European Union if Italy changed its position on migration, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Malta on Friday.

Speaking ahead of an informal European Union summit meeting, Orbán said that the new Italian government could join the “club of countries which think that the situation is unacceptable and migrants must be stopped outside the EU.”

Orbán argued that with Italy’s cooperation migrants could be returned to Libya rather than allowed to enter Europe. He warned against “allowing migrants to enter first and then work to solve their problems” and suggested that assistance should be provided where the problems arise rather than “allowing the problems into our territory”.

On another subject, Orbán voiced surprise at “neurotic European reactions” to the US entry ban on citizens of seven Islamic countries. He noted that the US was an independent country and as such it had the sovereign right to define “its own border, foreign and migration policies”. “What we think about that does not matter; it is not a European business. We must focus on ourselves, tackle our own problems rather than pass judgement over the United States,” Orbán insisted.

The one-day Malta summit has the migration crisis and global political changes on its agenda.

Source: MTI