Hungary, Germany share many points in migration crisis assessment, says FM Szijjártó

Hungary and Germany have a lot of points in common in how they assess the migration crisis, but Hungary rejects mandatory quotas and insists that security is paramount, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in an interview to German public television Phoenix.

One common area of agreement is that the external EU borders must be protected, he said, adding that Hungary and Germany also help to protect the Macedonian-Greek border with police units.

There is also full agreement on strengthening international development policy, he said, noting that he had signed a water management agreement with Gerd Muller, Germany‘s minister for international development cooperation, covering African and Middle Eastern countries of origin for migrants.

Szijjártó said Hungary rejects the “selective and discriminatory” interpretation of solidarity.

It will not accept the view that protecting the borders is not a manifestation of solidarity, he said in the interview broadcast late on Tuesday.

In the full interview available on Phoenix’s website, the minister said the “Stop Soros” bill aimed to make sure that anyone violating Hungarian national security interests or any organisation supporting border violations and illegal migration should pay the consequences.