During his visit to Podgorica, Mr Orbán said that the closure of the so-called Balkan route was achieved jointly by Hungary and the Balkan countries. He also offered further help to Montenegro to protect its borders, and expressed his hope that Montenegro can soon join the EU.

In Magyar Idők, László Szőcs is optimistic about the chances for what he calls the ‘Europeanization’ of the Balkan countries to continue.

The pro-government columnist thinks reconciliation has been successful by now, two decades after the post-Yugoslav wars. Szőcs agrees with Mr Orbán/s claim that the closure of the Balkan migration route can be ascribed to a great extent to Hungary’s policies.

He hopes that border patrolling in the Balkans will be successful in the future, and there will be no further wave of undocumented migrants reaching Europe from the South.

Szőcs also notes that Hungary has important diplomatic ties to the Balkans region, partly due to the existence of Hungarian minorities in Serbia and in Croatia.

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