Foreign minister: Discussing migration in security context ‘vital’

In light of the 29 terrorist attacks carried out in Europe by people with a migrant background over the past three years, discussing migration in the context of security is indispensable, the Hungarian foreign minister said in Brussels after a meeting of EU foreign ministers and trade representatives on Tuesday.

Referring to the Cotonou Agreement, a treaty between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States signed in June in 2000 and now about to be updated, Péter Szijjártó told Hungarian journalists that the section of the pact dealing with migration was entirely unacceptable for Hungary. He said the reason was that the EU wanted to legitimise and support migration as part of a new international agreement.

Hungary can only approve the start of new talks in line with the directives submitted by the European Commission if the chapter concerned addresses migration as a security challenge, Szijjártó said.

The current text reflects an EU position that migration is good, needs to be managed and encouraged as a priority issue and contributes to global development, he said.

Hungary disagrees with this position the same way as it disagreed with the earlier view that European and African interests were intertwined in respect of migration, he added. It should be left for every nation to decide whether or not they consider migration as a response to economic and social policy challenges, Szijjártó said. Hungary does not think that migration is the right answer to challenges in the labour market and demographics, he added.