“The equilibrium should be restored; the excessive powers of the Commission need to be curbed,” Lázár said. He argued that the commission cannot have policies of its own which are against the interests of member states.

He added that mandatory resettlement of migrants was one such area.

He said that at the Bratislava summit central European countries will name the protection of Bulgaria’s border as the number one task that the EU should deal with, adding that Europe’s future will be determined at the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

The central European member states will also talk about their cooperation and common market, the need for a common EU army and the need to strengthen Frontex, the bloc’s border agency, Lázár said.

The Visegrad Four grouping of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia will also highlight the importance of fiscal discipline, he added.

Lázár said that the EU would not fully finance the resettlement of migrants and insisted that a possible failure of Hungary’s upcoming quota referendum would involve “a sacrifice from Hungarian citizens”.

He said in response to a question that municipalities accommodating migrants would have more people to subsidise, and the per capita subsidy should be reduced.

He also said that social subsidies would be the same amount across the EU, and they would receive “four or five times as much” as Hungary’s Roma.

Answering further questions, Lázár said that the EU would want to distribute an “estimated” 2 million migrants among its members, and Hungary should accommodate 130,000.

Lázár reiterated the government’s position that aid should be provided where the problem is, for instance in the form of building a hospital in Syria.

Providing assistance cannot lead to “unforeseen social developments”, he added.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Soós Lajos