• Hungarian forint
  • Budapest
  • Police news
  • HelloMagyar
Hungary, Austria foreign ministers discuss bilateral ties, EU challengesHungary, Austria foreign ministers discuss bilateral ties, EU challengesHungary, Austria foreign ministers discuss bilateral ties, EU challengesHungary, Austria foreign ministers discuss bilateral ties, EU challenges
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Society
  • Sport
  • Culture
  • Special Hungary
  • News To Go
  • World
  • Contact Us
  • About us
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
✕
Important
  • Wizz Air launches new service to Sweden

Support us
Daily News Daily News · 23/06/2016
· Politics

Hungary, Austria foreign ministers discuss bilateral ties, EU challenges

Budapest, June 23 (MTI) – Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó met his Austrian colleague, Sebastian Kurz, on Thursday to discuss Europe’s migration crisis as well as bilateral relations.

The EU is going through one of the gravest crises of its history and the migration situation has generated serious disputes within the bloc, Szijjarto told a press conference after the talks. “But the Hungarian government and the Austrian foreign ministry share many of the same views [on migration],” Szijjártó said. The Austrian minister’s proposals concerning the migrant crisis are in line with Hungary’s “Schengen 2.0” plan, he added.

Szijjártó said Europe must completely rethink its migration policy. “Instead of trying to figure out how to bring in even more people and distribute the burden of migration among member states, the EU should find ways to reduce the migration pressure,” the minister said.

The crisis will not be resolved without proper border controls, Szijjarto insisted. He reiterated Hungary’s stance that hotspots should be set up outside the EU for registering migrants. He said migrants should not be allowed to enter Europe until it can be determined that they are eligible for asylum, arguing that it is very hard to send people back to their countries of origin even if it is proven that they had entered Europe illegally.

The two ministers agreed that people who try to enter Europe illegally should not be eligible for asylum. Neither should they be allowed to enter Hungary illegally from safe third countries, Szijjártó said.

Regarding bilateral ties, Szijjártó said Hungary’s interests lie in maintaining a strategic alliance with Austria. The two countries’ ties must be based on mutual respect, he added.

Austria is Hungary’s fourth largest investor and second biggest trading partner, Szijjártó noted. Around 3,000 Austrian companies do business in Hungary and employ some 75,000 people, he added.

Download

Asked about Britain’s referendum on European Union membership, Szijjártó said the decision was up to the British people but Hungary and the EU’s interests lay in the UK remaining. He ruled out Hungary’s holding a referendum of its own on EU membership. “Hungary’s future lies in the EU and a strong Hungary’s future lies in a strong EU,” Szijjártó insisted, adding that Hungary’s membership has been beneficial both to itself and to the bloc.

Kurz said that in order to guarantee a Europe without internal borders, the EU must first ensure the protection of its external borders. Europe should be the one to decide who gets to enter the bloc rather than people smugglers, he said. If the EU fails to protect its external borders, it could find itself in a situation similar to the events of last year. Member states would then have to take steps to secure their borders, Kurz said, adding, however, that the bloc today “should not have to experience” what it is like to have internal borders.

The minister said Europe should not abandon peripheral countries. He said that if migrants enter the continent legally, Europe can keep their numbers under control and can prevent certain countries from being overburdened by them.

Kurz said it was clear that Europe’s refugee system was not working and the bloc must work together to put together a new one.

Photo: MTI

Source: mtva.hu

If you would like to support the work of the Daily News Hungary staff and independent journalism,
please make a donation here
Austria Foreign Affairs Ministry of Hungary
Share

Hot news

  • Hungarian sportswoman suffers fatal accident in Jordan

  • President Novák: Starting a family will save the world

  • VIDEO: Corrupt border policemen caught by Hungarian Counter Terrorism Centre

  • Economic development minister in talks with Azeri counterpart

  • 18+ VIDEO – Hungarian horror slaughterhouse: Rusty saw, bloody floor

  • 28th International Book Festival to be held in Budapest

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SUPPORT US
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Must read

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive daily updates, news & stories about Hungary!

Select your location below or enter your country so we can deliver our morning newsletters to you in time.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Contact us

About us

Copyright rules

Privacy policy

Advertise with us

© 2023 DailyNewsHungary. All rights reserved! | Server and development by Svigelj Levente E.V
Hungarian sportswoman suffers fatal accident in Jordan

Hungarian sportswoman suffers fatal accident in Jordan

Read More
<strong> President Novák: Starting a family will save the world </strong>

President Novák: Starting a family will save the world

Read More
VIDEO: Corrupt border policemen caught by Hungarian Counter Terrorism Centre

VIDEO: Corrupt border policemen caught by Hungarian Counter Terrorism Centre

Read More
Economic development minister in talks with Azeri counterpart

Economic development minister in talks with Azeri counterpart

Read More
18+ VIDEO – Hungarian horror slaughterhouse: Rusty saw, bloody floor

18+ VIDEO – Hungarian horror slaughterhouse: Rusty saw, bloody floor

Read More
28th International Book Festival to be held in Budapest

28th International Book Festival to be held in Budapest

Read More
EUR 1.80/litre for petrol to soon become reality in Hungary – is this Putin’s revenge?

EUR 1.80/litre for petrol to soon become reality in Hungary – is this Putin’s revenge?

Read More
Hungary, Slovakia open new border crossing

Hungary, Slovakia open new border crossing

Read More
Hungary celebrates 75 years as UNESCO member

Hungary celebrates 75 years as UNESCO member

Read More
<b> What happened today in Hungary? – 26 September, 2023 </b>

What happened today in Hungary? – 26 September, 2023

Read More
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
Have you read it?