Péter Szijjártó responded to Margot Wallström voicing concern in a newspaper interview over the “consequences” of the package of amendments Hungary’s parliament passed to tighten asylum regulations.

Wallström said that international rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International were rightly concerned that the measures could prove to be not only unlawful but “inhumane”. The Swedish minister insisted that the issue should be put on the agenda of the European Union.

Szijjártó argued that while Sweden had been aiding illegal immigrants, it had recently failed to help an injured Hungarian girl stay in Sweden with her only relatives, even despite funding offered in contribution by the Hungarian government.

“This is a hypocritical approach which the Hungarian government cannot and does not want to subscribe to,” Szijjártó said. It is up to the Swedish government to decide whom it considers important, and this is what the Hungarian government does, too, Szijjártó said.

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

MTI photo: Máthé Zoltán