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Hungary vows not to cave into EU pressure for its migration stance

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stresses Hungary will not let anyone to interfere in its migration policy and is not going to change it
Migrants stop and take some food as they walk toward the Serbian border with Hungary in the village of Nova Pazova, Serbia AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic
Migrants stop and take some food as they walk toward the Serbian border with Hungary in the village of Nova Pazova, Serbia
© AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

UNITED NATIONS, May 26./TASS/. Hungary will not let anyone to interfere in its migration policy and is not going to change it, as this is a matter of country’s security, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in an interview with TASS, commenting on EU leadership’s threats to take measures if the country refuses to accommodate the prescribed number of asylum-seekers relocated from Greece and Italy.

"First of all we will not let anyone to interfere in our domestic issues. There have been many attempts regarding that, we always rejected and we'll always reject them," the senior diplomat said.

"Migration policy is the core competence of the member states. And we made it very clear, that for us, Hungary, this safety or security of Hungary and Hungarian people is number one. And we will not let anyone to endanger the security of Hungary or the Hungarian people," he said.

He said the firm stance of Budapest arouses indignation in EU governing bodies that use every possibility for attacks. He said the resolution passed by the European Parliament and threatening to trigger Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union against Hungary is one of the punishment stages. "But you can be sure, that we will insist on not letting anyone enter the territory of Hungary illegally," Peter Szijjarto said.

The diplomat said that threatening Budapest with measures under Article 7 "it’s just not being serious" and that not all in the European Union will vote for this decision. He said Poland also came under similar threats in the past, but Hungary made it clear it would never support such an initiative.

"We do not need to satisfy European politicians," the diplomat said. "Our job and our task and our obligation is to guarantee the security of Hungary and Hungarian people and we will not change anything," he stressed.

He reiterated that Hungary had decided to challenge in the European Court of Justice obligatory quotas for asylum-seekers, as they are "totally against European regulations" and the common sense. Besides, he said obligatory quotas threaten security of Hungary and the entire Europe as they are taken by migrants as an invitation to move. He also said a serious terrorist threat that European Union countries have faced, comes as a result of "mass illegal migration".