The inclusion of the Western Balkan states would strengthen the European Union, which would be a huge help in dealing with the current difficulties, Hungary is therefore calling for a significant acceleration of the accession process, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Wednesday in Sarajevo.
According to the ministry's statement, the head of the ministry emphasized in a joint press conference with his Bosnian colleague, Elmedin Konakovic, that the continent is facing very serious challenges due to the war in Ukraine, and the current situation shows more clearly than ever before how big a mistake it was on the part of the EU, that in recent years it did not pushed the expansion forward.
"If the European Union were within the Western Balkan region, the dramatic effects that are affecting us due to the current difficult situation would be much better and more efficiently managed," he underlined.
"If the Western Balkans were part of the European Union, it would be stronger and we would be able to fight the migration challenge better," he emphasized, pointing out that our country faces security challenges not only from the east, but also from the south.
Therefore, the minister called for a considerable acceleration of the enlargement, and criticized the fact that several EU member states support the matter only in their communication, but in fact they are blocking the process.
"We call on the anti-enlargement member states to stop obstructing the expansion of the European Union, because this causes damage to the European Union itself and poses security risks for Hungary as well," he said.
Péter Szijjártó warned that the root causes of migration worldwide are becoming more and more serious, so the pressure should be expected to increase, even though the Hungarian authorities registered 265,000 illegal border crossing attempts last year, and tens of thousands more this year.
"Our position is clear. Since migration is dangerous, migration must be stopped, and we know exactly that the closer the cooperation with the Western Balkan countries, the more effectively we can stop the waves of migration," he said, praising the cooperation with Bosnia-Herzegovina in this area.
"For us, the stability of Bosnia-Herzegovina is a priority interest, so we expect Brussels to take meaningful steps in the area of its accession in the next period," he added.
He recalled that the Hungarian government sent experts to Sarajevo to facilitate the accession process, and the National Guard participates in the EU's peacekeeping mission with 165 soldiers.
According to the announcement, the minister expressed his strong protest against the EU imposing any kind of sanctions against democratically elected leaders in the region.
"Those who think that sanctions can solve any issue here have no idea about the situation here, and they are trying to hide their lack of knowledge with a kind of pomposity," he opined, and he also touched on the fact that no sanctions regime in recent years has lived up to expectations.
Speaking about the recent report on Bosnia, the US State Department expressed its indignation that "such ex cathedra statements about the internal issues and situations of other countries" are made.
"How do they do this? (…) I find it outrageous and shocking that bureaucrats in Washington get together and make such statements about our countries, referring to all kinds of one-sided reports, which in many cases are funded by the United States," he said.
Source and full article: Magyar Hírlap
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