Subscribe to our social channels to get the latest news about Hungary!
Hungary and Austria agreed that their views differ on the anti-Putin sanctions
Change language:
Europe needs easily traversable, open internal and secure external borders, President Katalin Novák told a press conference in Vienna on Thursday, after meeting her Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen.
Novák told the joint press conference that they had touched on the war in Ukraine and the situation of Hungarians living there, energy independence, migration and the importance of the European Union’s enlargement in the Western Balkans. At the talks, Novák and Van der Bellen agreed that the two countries should have stable relations and be strong allies.
Regarding migration, Novák said Hungary was on the same page with Austria that accepting and helping refugees was a humanitarian task. At the same time, while regulating legal economic immigration could be a sovereign national decision, firm countermeasures are needed against illegal migration, she said.
Hungary wants the southern borders strengthened to stop illegal migration, including the border between Serbia and Macedonia, she said. At the same time, it has already received some 1 million refugees from Ukraine, and “right from the beginning, Hungarians and Austrians were on the side of those in need of help”.
Read alsoOrbán cabinet: Illegal entry attempts exceed 200,000 this year
“Hungary’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war has always been unequivocal: we condemn Russian aggression and the military attack on a sovereign country, we do not recognise Russian sovereignty over the annexed regions, and support Ukraine in its fight,” she said. Hungary and Austria are both for achieving peace as soon as possible, she added.
Hungary also supports the EU integration of the Western Balkans, and enlargement is also in the EU’s interest, she said. Novák said some 115,000 Hungarians were working in Austria, contributing to Austrian economy, she said. An Austrian decision in 2019 to reduce family support for non-Austrian citizens impacted nearly 9,000 Hungarians working there, but since the regulation has been retracted, the affected families “can receive the support they are entitled to”, she said.
Our Politicians are very adept at avoiding the usual fighting words for the Hungarian domestic audience in the international context, where they are ruthlessly fact checked and countered with arguments. Pretty smart, actually.