Summit of EU leaders in Salzburg – Orbán: Hungary insists on right to protect border

Hungary insists on its right to protect its borders, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told reporters ahead of an informal summit of EU leaders in Salzburg on Wednesday.

Arriving at a meeting of European People’s Party (EPP) premiers, when asked why he objected to EU proposals to bolster Frontex, the bloc’s border agency, having long pushed for the protection of the EU’s external borders, Orbán said: “We’re glad that we’re finally concentrating on the question of how we’re going to protect the borders. This is good.”

He added, however, that there was no need to take away border protection competencies from Hungary, arguing that “we’re capable of protecting our borders. We insist on the right to keep it our job”.

Orban said Hungary has managed to stop the flow of illegal migrants on its border with Serbia. “We can do the job,” he said.