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Brussels 'Ineffective' Against Illegal Migration, Drug Abuse, Says Hungarian Foreign Minister

• 9 Mar 2021 9:04 AM
• Hungary Matters

Illegal migration and increasing drug use are two serious global security challenges linked to organised crime, and the European Union’s measures are “not effective enough”, the Hungarian foreign minister said in Kyoto, where he attended the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

Speaking to MTI, Péter Szijjártó said that the coronavirus pandemic had created new global security challenges, which, if left untackled, would generate further problems.

He said illegal migration posed a security and cultural threat to Europe and carried a health risk of rapid transmission of Covid-19. Illegal migration is helped by organised crime since migrants “use the services of people smuggling rings often helped by NGOs”, Szijjártó said.

As regards drugs, Szijjártó said that “unfortunately, what we see is that Brussels supports not only illegal migration but an increased use of drugs”, adding that “cannabis has recently been reclassified in the UN as an allegedly non-hazardous substance”.

The Hungarian government opposed that step and the European Commission in response launched an infringement procedure against the country rather than increase its efforts to cut drug abuse.


Photo: Hungarian Foreign Ministry

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Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

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