The Council of the European Union has approved all legislative chapters of the new regulation on the reform of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, which, among other things, provide for the faster assessment of asylum applications, the more effective return of those without the right to stay, and the solidarity that requires the distribution of migrants between member states. Hungary does not accept the imposition of migrant quotas, it is particularly harmful and unreasonable that, based on the provisions of the new EU asylum package, a penalty of 20,000 euros per migrant must be paid to those countries that are not willing to accept migrants to their territory according to the mandatory quota, stated Minister of Finance Mihály Varga in a statement to Hungarian journalists on Tuesday in Brussels.

On Tuesday, the Council of the European Union finally approved all legislative chapters of the new regulation on the reform of the EU migration and asylum pact. In this regard, the Minister of Finance emphasized that

Together with other member states, Hungary will not implement the pact's measures, as it believes that migration should be handled by other methods.

"It is not necessary to import the problem to Europe and send an invitation to the migrants, but to take the solutions to the issuing countries," he emphasized.

    According to Mihály Varga, Brussels is "unyielding" regarding the migration issue, which is why change is needed in the EU.

"On June 9, every Hungarian citizen has the opportunity to express his position on the issue of migration with his vote. Everyone in the voting booth should think about whether they want to live in a country flooded by migrants or raise their voice against it," he called attention.

The minister recalled that the fence created on Hungary's southern border has cost Hungarian taxpayers HUF 700 billion so far. In this regard, he said that he turned to the EU commissioner responsible for the budget, who said that the European Commission is still unwilling to provide support for this.

In connection with the fact that the Council of the European Union on Tuesday finally approved the regular payments of the 50 billion euro long-term financial support for Ukraine, Mihály Varga said: the Hungarian position is that the same strict rules of use must be met when using these funds as for any other it would be European Union support in the field.

"Double standards cannot be applied, stricter rules of use must be enforced here as well. Efforts should also be made to ensure that this money goes to those regions that are not directly on the front line, such as Transcarpathia," he emphasized. As he said, the burden of caring for internally displaced persons is becoming increasingly difficult in Transcarpathia, which is why this area also needs EU resources.

He also pointed out that Ukraine has not followed all the recommendations related to the use of the funds. In his opinion, the recommendations concerning human rights and national minorities, among them

the recommendations of the Venice Commission have not been accepted by Ukraine so far. "And here we are talking about very important conditions, because we expect Ukraine to accept EU basic values ​​along with the use of EU subsidies"

he stated.

Speaking about the EU accession of the Western Balkan countries, Mihály Varga said: the economic catch-up of the region is a key issue for the European Union. As he said, these countries have been waiting for accession for a long time, and with their economic strengthening, they offer an opportunity for the EU to develop in terms of intercontinental competitiveness. According to the Minister of Finance, foreign investments are constantly growing in the Western Balkan states, and private consumption is also getting stronger.

"Hungary has always supported the accession of the countries of this region, and we urge that this happen as quickly as possible after their economic catch-up," he emphasized.

MTI / Civilek.info

Cover photo: MTI Photo: Sándor Ujvári