Brussels, July 20 (MTI) – The pressure of migration on Hungary is also a European issue and an immediate pan-European solution is needed to tackle it, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Brussels on Monday.

Recent experience shows that the pressure of migration on the EU will shift from Mediterranean routes to land routes during the autumn and winter. As a consequence, the number of illegal migrants crossing the Hungarian border could double from October and their total number exceed 200,000 by the end of the year, he added.

Szijjarto cited most recent data showing a total of 86,485 illegal migrants arriving in Hungary this year, 99.3 percent of whom came from the direction of Serbia. This June’s figures by the European Union’s border guards agency show more people arriving in the EU through the Western Balkans than across the Mediterranean, with most of them coming from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, he said. The number of Kosovars has dropped to 3 percent, which means that the majority of migrants arriving in Hungary had already crossed at least one EU country, he added. These transit countries, however, are unable to stem the flow. For instance, Greece is coping with serious challenges and has no capacities to stop illegal immigrants.

A new resolution approved by the EU foreign ministers acknowledges the extraordinary migration pressure from the Western Balkans and takes note of Hungary’s proposal to arrange a conference on the issue in Budapest.

“It is unacceptable to us if the EU fails to recognise the true significance of the pressure from the Balkans,” he said. Despite frequent calls for a geographically more balanced approach, the EU has repeatedly given the impression that insufficient attention is being paid on the Balkans route, he added.

Szijjarto said he held bilateral talks with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and asked his support for a more balanced approach.

He said no official decision has been made yet on Budapest hosting a migration conference but the government would like EU foreign ministers and interior ministers to meet in Budapest in October and also invite representatives of the six Western Balkan transit countries and Turkey. The aim is to set up hot spots where EU officials could filter the migrants and select those who are eligible for refugee status, he added.

Szijjarto said the EU foreign ministers had also discussed the agreement signed with Iran. Hungary had been in support of it from the start and welcomes the deal signed in Vienna last week. An international competition is expected to start for economic cooperation with Iran and Hungary has already made the necessary bilateral steps for this, he added. A seven-point action plan has been prepared which is not entirely public but potential areas for cooperation include water management, city management, engineering services and the car industry, Szijjarto said.

Another issue discussed at the meeting was the situation in Tunisia, he said. For the time being, the ministry maintains its rating of the country as high risk. The Visegrad Four countries of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia plan to coordinate country ratings for travel safety in the future, he added.

Photo: MTI