Their talks focused on the migration situation in Europe, Bertalan Havasi said.

Orban is set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron for a working dinner later in the evening.

Orban: Migration 'threatening to pull EU apart'

Migration is the greatest of the problems threatening to pull the European Union apart, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a press conference on Tuesday, calling for change and adding that the EU's migration pact "must be thrown out" and new solutions must to be sought.

Speaking after a Hungarian-Slovak-Serbian summit on the protection of the EU's external borders in Komarno (Revkomarom) in Slovakia, Orban said that while migration was itself a serious problem, "it will destroy cooperation within the bloc" when coupled with bad leadership.

"The prime minister of Slovakia and I are ready to participate in creating new rules, because the current ones must certainly be forgotten and new ones must be drafted," Orban said.

Orban said the EU was on the brink of an "uprising", with Poland's prime minister announcing his country was suspending the implementation of EU migration regulations, and the German chancellor suspending compliance with rules "he should adhere to so that the Schengen Area can function".

The number of those revolting would grow further, Orban said, "and that will dismantle not only the migration pact -- and good riddance, it deserves being buried as soon as possible -- but also European cooperation."

Besides causing problems in individual countries, the issue of migration was also important because the EU's "bad leadership" couldn't handle the problem, leading to member states rejecting implementation, Orban said. "That will not happen in an orderly manner by scrapping regulations and drafting new ones, but by countries rejecting to implement Schengen regulations, as we can see."

"Schengen is dying as we speak, and there is nothing we can do, it is just falling apart," Orban said.

Commenting on the fine the Court of Justice of the European Union has imposed on Hungary, Orban said the government was "constantly asking those in Brussels to suspend and revisit this decision, and to reach an agreement", but added that he saw little chance of that. "At the same time, this quasi-revolt is a new development."

Noting that he, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic have spent a combined 40 years in office, Orban said they "have a duty to recognise connections others with less experience do not." While everyone is primarily responsible for their own country, regional cooperation is similarly of paramount importance, and they were doing their best to adhere to that as regards the issue of migration, he said.

Confirming Fico's comments, Orban said: "It happened exactly as we had said it would," adding that it had been predictable as early as 2015 that "allowing millions of people from other cultures to enter the continent without controls and permission will cause problems."

The West had failed to listen to the warning, and now it had to capitulate before facts, he said.

Since 2015, the EU had received 8 million asylum requests, and the number of illegal entry attempts is at 3.8 million, with Hungary having thwarted one million alone, he said.

Based on the data, the EU seems to be incapable of expelling migrants who had entered its territory illegally, he said. Last year, EU authorities issued 430,000 expulsion orders, of which only 84,000 were implemented, he said.

Western leaders were "in panic" over illegal migration, and "panic only breeds bad decisions," Orban said, pointing to measures such as suspending free movement within the Schengen area and re-introducing border controls, "so illegal migration dismantled the greatest achievement of the European Union, free movement across the borders."

It was predictable that the crime rate would grow and the migration pact would exacerbate rather than solve the problem, "so the pact is the problem itself," he said.

Meanwhile, Hungary is being fined 200 million euros for not allowing illegal migrants into the country's territory, "and we are paying one million euros daily for defending Europe." Additionally, the EU wants to redistribute migrants according to quotas, and the European Commission would have the right to distribute others in an emergency, "and the number [of redistributed migrants] would be at their discretion."

The Hungarian model had been the only one to work regarding illegal migration, Orban said. According to that, migrants could only enter the country once their requests had been assessed. "They need to wait outside. All other solutions are ineffective," he said.

"There are two ways to lose your home, one is displacement, the other that one stays in place, but everything changes without one's consent," Orban said.

He said Slovakia and Hungary had protected themselves from that problem and Slovaks and Hungarians could feel at home. He expressed hope that the Serbs, too, could maintain that feeling in their own homeland.

Regarding economic cooperation, the prime minister said cooperation with Slovakia and Serbia was in Hungary' vital interest, and Hungary was ready to continue it "in its current form".

Slovakia is among Hungary's ten most important economic partners, and bilateral trade with Serbia has grown six-fold during the presidency of Aleksandar Vucic, Orban said.

Orban said Serbian-Hungarian ties also played a role in Hungary's economic neutrality through Serbia's free trade agreement with China.

Serbia and Slovakia are also crucial for Hungary's energy independence, Orban said. Energy supplies reach Hungary via Serbia in the south and Slovakia in the north when "the eastern connection does not work, and it is right now about to stall," Orban said. "We say thanks to Serbia and Slovakia for their help in preserving Hungary's energy independence," he said.

The prime minister welcomed that "peace was not considered a swearword" at Tuesday's meeting. "I had the opportunity to be present in a Christian environment today where the Christian commandment to seek peace is the most important guiding principle for the politicians in power," he said.

Orban: West 'panicking' over migration

Western leaders are "in panic" over illegal migration, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a press conference after a Hungarian-Slovak-Serbian summit on the protection of the European Union's external borders in Komarno (Revkomarom), in southern Slovakia, on Tuesday.

"Panic only breeds bad decisions," Orban said, pointing to measures such as suspending free movement within the Schengen area and re-introducing border controls, "so illegal migration dismantled the greatest achievement of the European Union, free movement across the borders."

It was predictable that the crime rate would grow and the migration pact would exacerbate rather than solve the problem, "so the pact is the problem itself," he said.

Meanwhile, Orban: Cooperation with Slovakia, Serbia in Hungary's vital interest

Cooperation with Slovakia and Serbia is in Hungary' vital interest, and Hungary is ready to continue it "in its current form", Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a press conference after a Hungarian-Slovak-Serbian summit in Komarno (Revkomarom) in Slovakia on Tuesday.

Slovakia is among Hungary's ten most important economic partners, and bilateral trade with Serbia has grown six-fold during the presidency of Aleksandar Vucic, Orban said.

Orban said Serbian-Hungarian ties also played a role in Hungary's economic neutrality through Serbia's free trade agreement with China.

Serbia and Slovakia are also crucial for Hungary's of energy independence, Orban said.

MTI Stock Photo - for illustrative purposes only

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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