Asked about one axis forming within the EU by the Visegrad Four countries and another by Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden, Szijjártó responded by saying that the EU’s greatest strength is in its unity which must be preserved.

Commenting on the EU’s migrant redistribution quotas, the minister reiterated that Hungary rejects the scheme. If hundreds or thousands of migrants were moved to Hungary, they would set off for Germany, Sweden or Austria the next day, Szijjártó said, adding that the quotas “would lure even more migrants to Europe,” it would be “another invitation” to the continent, he said.

Elaborating on Hungary’s decision to build a fence on its border with Serbia, Szijjártó said building the fence was “nothing more or nothing less” than fulfilling the EU’s Schengen rules. Hungary’s move of installing the fence had shown that protecting the borders and stemming the flow of migrants is not an impossible task, the minister added.

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

MTI photo: KKM