János Bóka also posted a letter signed by Interior Minister Sándor Pintér, written to EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson who has earlier voiced concerns about extending the card programme to include Russians and Belarusians wishing to work in Hungary.

Bóka said in the post that applications for the card were tied to the same migration and security screening processes as other residence permits.

The card is issued only in consideration of the relevant EU guidelines and after an assessment of security risks, and the EU had so far not objected to the practice, he said.

Hungary is hosting only a fraction of Russian and Belarusian citizens currently staying in the EU, and the country issues a fraction of EU residence permits for Russian and Belarusian citizens, he said.

Pintér said in the letter that Hungary continued to place great emphasis on the protection of its national security and the security of the Schengen area as a whole.

Szijjártó: Extending Hungary National Card Programme to Belarus, Russia No Security Threat

Extending Hungary’s National Card Programme to include Russian and Belorusian citizens poses no security threat to the Schengen Area, as card holders undergo comprehensive vetting before they are allowed to enter or stay in Hungary, the foreign minister said on Sunday.

“We are sorry to see that our north European and Baltic colleagues continue their smear campaign against Hungary,” Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook.

“The truth is that involving Belorusian and Russian citizens in the National Card programme poses no security threat whatsoever for the Schengen Area, as they have to go through a comprehensive vetting process before they enter or stay in Hungary,” he said.

“All statements to the contrary are lies, pure and simple, perpetuated by our northern European and Baltic colleagues blinded by their pro-war approach.”

Deutsch: 'Pro-War Political Interests Supersede All Else' for EC on Ukraine

Tamás Deutsch, the head of ruling’ Fidesz’s European parliamentary delegation, has said that for the European Commission “pro-war political interests supersede all else” regarding Ukraine.

In an interview to public radio, Deutsch insisted that the EC had failed to fulfil even its most basic obligations if it led to bolstering pro-peace efforts, and was even prepared to “look the other way” when it came to “political blackmail”.

Brussels’ decisions, Deutsch said, were dictated by “an ideological bias that ignores the law”.

He said the EC would take action once Ukraine started taking steps that directly went against the economic, political and security interests of western European countries, adding that such a scenario was “easy to imagine as Ukraine becomes emboldened”.

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