Hungarian FM dismisses Schulz remarks on Orbán, migration policy

Hungary’s foreign minister has dismissed criticism by the head of Germany’s SPD party Martin Schulz levelled against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his migration policy, saying that Schulz’s accusations were unfounded.

In an interview with a German newspaper, Schulz called it “unacceptable” that some EU member states were making great efforts to accommodate refugees while others were derelict in their duties.

Szijjártó said Schulz constantly attacked Hungary for its policy which “protected all Germans”. Szijjártó said he had hoped that Schulz, having returned “from the Brussels bubble to German reality”, would face up to that reality and see that his charges against Hungary were wrong.

“But it became clear that these hopes were unfounded,” Szijjártó said.

“Martin Schulz is unaware of the basic facts. Still, as a citizen of a country that enjoys the benefits of Hungary’s efforts to protect the external borders of the Schengen area by enforcing European law, he is in a comfortable position,” Szijjarto said, adding that Hungary had spent 1 billion euros on border defence measures.

“The European Commission has rejected awarding partial compensation for this amount even though Hungarian border protection protects both Germany and the European Union as a whole,” he said,

adding that the lack of solidarity was not on Hungary’s part but on the side of the EU.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Clemens Bilan

Source: MTI