Hungary’s interior minister has highlighted how protecting the European Union’s external Schengen borders is crucial when it comes to stopping illegal migration to Europe.
“When it comes to migration, the most important thing is clearly to protect the external Schengen borders,” Sándor Pintér said after talks with his Visegrad Group and Austrian counterparts in Prague. “At the same time, help must be taken to where the problems arise.”
According to MTI, the minister said that although Hungary is capable of protecting its own Schengen border for the time being, it is happy to accept help from its Visegrad partners.
Pinter thanked the other three V4 countries for help they provided to protect Hungary’s borders from the inflow of migrants. He added that Hungary provides similar assistance to the Western Balkan countries.
Talks also touched on the procurement of police equipment. The minister said coordinating the purchase of police equipment among the V4 countries would also significantly aid the activities of EU border agency Frontex.
In regard to the upcoming Brexit deadline, the ministers were in agreement that Britain and the EU must maintain cooperation in security and their information-sharing practices once the UK leaves the bloc.
Finally, the ministers said the drafting of the new pact on migration and asylum proposed by EC President Ursula von der Leyen would be a good opportunity to assess and re-evaluate the issue of migration.
Photo credit: kormany.hu