“What makes the situation even more difficult is that debates in Europe immediately become emotional, which makes it impossible to work out solutions based on common sense,” he said. “Therefore in this situation central Europe must represent common sense and push for realistic solutions” to the continent’s challenges, he said.

Szijjártó insisted that this had been the case with economic policy, arguing that it was “no accident” that central Europe had become the continent’s engine of growth. But this also used to be the case with security, he said, arguing that by focusing on security policy, central European countries had proven that the inflow of migrants into Europe could be stopped.

“Concerning migration, it must be made clear that the wave of migrants can and should be stopped, and only those should be allowed to enter and stay in Europe who are eligible in line with current regulations,” he said. Continued enlargement is a security and economic interest for Europe, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó pointed to “very serious tensions emerging in the Western Balkans”, saying that “integration is the best way to combat them. … The integration process of Serbia and Montenegro must be significantly accelerated because if the EU does not integrate the Western Balkans then somebody else will and that is certainly not in our interest,” he said.

Hungary urges cooperation between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, Szijjártó said, arguing that western Europe is home to the continent’s advanced technologies while eastern Europe is rich in minerals and raw materials.

“If we can align these two things and ensure cooperation between western and eastern Europe based on mutual respect, then Europe’s competitiveness on the global economic stage will receive a significant boost.” Szijjártó held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov and Vladimir Makei, his Belarusian counterpart.

CEI foreign ministers also had a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Szijjártó agreed with his negotiating partners that Hungary would continue to support the advancement of EUBelarus relations, which he said was both an economic and security interest of Europe.

The two sides also agreed that they would continue talks on Hungary exporting drugs to Belarus and that Hungary would support Belarusian membership in the World Trade Organisation. Hungary also backs the implementation of a visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Belarus, Szijjártó said after his talks.

MTI Photo: Foreign Ministry

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