Bled Strategic Forum – Deepening rift in Europe between pro-, anti-immigration parties, says Hungarian FM

A rift is deepening between those in Europe who support immigration and those who see it as a security risk, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told MTI after taking part in the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia.

The dispute is becoming more and more serious, he said, “further aggravating an exceptionally high-handed understanding of solidarity”.

Various European countries are choosing imperiously between elements of solidarity, the minister said, adding that this endangered Europe, since security and solidarity were being treated as separate from one another.

“Solidarity and security must be taken hand-in-hand; one cannot exist without the other,” Szijjártó said.

“The solidarity that undermines the security of the continent is not solidarity but something damaging for Europe,” he added.

According to Hungary’s position, security and border defence are key components of solidarity, ones that should in any case be taken into account, Szijjártó said.

In addition to protecting the Hungarian border and consequently that of western Europe, Hungary has also provided significant help to the countries of the western Balkans, enabling them to protect their own borders, he added.