Relations between countries in central Europe should be further strengthened also because challenges need to be addressed jointly, especially when a common European response is not available, he said. Commenting on recent Croatian remarks, he said the prime minister of Croatia should have spent his time preparing for the pressure of migration instead of “launching baseless attacks and accusations against Hungary”.

Croatia’s migrant services system collapsed within a day and they decided to purposely redirect refugees to Slovenia and Hungary, he added. The minister said he would discuss long-term cooperation plans with Serbia because the migration wave is likely to continue for an extended period.

For the time being, Hungary is not involved in talks with Croatia “because well before the migration wave started, Hungarian-Croatian political relations reached a low point and I do not see the point of talks of any kind” before the parliamentary elections in Croatia, he added.

In an interview given to the daily Magyar Idők, Szijjártó said that strengthening Europe’s borders is crucial, because 30 to 35 million migrants are said to be heading towards the continent. He said the European Union has neglected the protection of its borders, adding that European leaders seem to be afraid to “call a spade a spade”, and it is easier for them to criticise those who do.

The minister said a number of European leaders are acting based on the “false reporting of the international media”. This, he said, could lead to serious problems because European politicians are still refusing to admit the challenges they are up against.

He said Hungary would “make it clear” that Europe is not in a position to take in hundreds of thousands or millions of economic migrants. “We can only handle the crisis if we uphold and strengthen the Schengen system,” Szijjártó insisted. He said the fence on the Hungary-Serbia border will “very likely” be effective in diverting the routes of people smugglers.

Referring to Hungary’s relations with Slovakia, Szijjártó said it “may come as a surprise” that “out of our neighbouring countries, our relations are best with whom you would not expect, like Slovakia and Serbia.”

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