Meeting of EU foreign minsiters in Brussels – Szijjártó: EU-Turkey deal has lost its relevancy
Brussels, March 14 (MTI) – The deal on migrants between the European Union and Turkey has lost its relevancy ever since the recent closure of the Balkan route, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said before a meeting of EU counterparts in Brussels on Monday.
He said a new situation had emerged once the countries in the western Balkans decided to protect their own borders and thwart illegal crossings over the so-called green border.
The Hungarian government believes solutions should be fitted to this new situation, he said. Instead of the putative deal with Ankara there should be a plan formed of three elements tied with a rethink of how the 3 billion euros that Europe has promised to hand over to Turkey is spent, the minister said.
First involves supporting the western Balkan countries to sustain their efforts to protect their borders. Second, Greece should receive support so that it can uphold common European regulations and set up and maintain hotspots. Finally, it should be recognised that “it is not our responsibility to ensure a European quality of life for migrants” setting off to the continent. “Instead we should help them to restore their former lives as quickly as possible.” For this reason, support should be offered to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and the Kurdish region of Iraq so that they can look after refugees there, Szijjártó said.
Hungary continues to regard the plan to transfer refugees to Europe, and the associated plans to distribute them among member states, as unacceptable, he said.
The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy circulated a letter before the council meeting pointing out among other things that the situation in Iraq and Libya are such that the migrant pressure on Europe is sure to grow, Szijjarto said.
Photo: MTI
Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters
