It has been proven that the construction of a fence is the only effective method to stop the waves of illegal migration, so it is "absurd" that the European Union is still unwilling to finance it, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Monday, according to the ministry.

Edgars Rinkevičs the head of the ministry praised the friendly and allied relationship between the two countries, pointing out that there is agreement between them regarding the most important challenges for the future of the EU, such as migration. He called it unprecedented that Europe came under migration pressure from three directions - from the south, southeast and east. According to him, as a result of this , the Latvians, Lithuanians and Poles are now physically confronted with what Hungary has been facing since 2015.

"It has been proven that the only effective method to stop the waves of illegal migration is the construction of a fence, without which there is not the amount of police or military forces that could effectively protect hundreds of kilometers of borders," he underlined . Péter Szijjártó called it difficult to understand that the European Commission is "slowly financing everything that serves to increase migration", but still not the truly effective tool aimed at curbing it.

"It's as if they're not on this planet who continue to block support for the countries building the fence," he said, calling on the Brussels body to abandon "efforts to change the composition of the European population".

The minister also spoke about the EU enlargement, which, according to him, is "really slow, but if we look at it very honestly, it is not progressing at all" . He stated that slowing down the process is against the security and economic interests of Hungary and the community, because the fastest way to achieve stability and peace in the region is integration. He also announced that the government is supporting Latvia's defense against the fourth wave of the coronavirus epidemic with new means, and is sending 55 patient monitors and 100 drug pump sets to the country.

Finally, he mentioned that the Hungarian army has already participated twice in the NATO mission to control the Baltic airspace, and will do so again next September-December and in 2025. Edgars Rinkevic first of all thanked Hungary for the offers, and then - targeting Belarus - warned that some states use migration as a "hybrid weapon". In this regard, he believed that the external borders of the EU should be strengthened and sanctions should be implemented.

Manfred Weber , head of the European Parliament faction of the European People's Party , that the EU should support the construction of a fence on the Polish-Belarusian border, while it would not support it in the case of Hungary. "The situation cannot be serious enough for Manfred Weber to take back at least a little from his Hungarian-phobic approach," he said.

Source: MTI

(Header image: KKM)