Hungary is protecting the outside Schengen borders as required under EU law, said State Secretary Magyar Levente, who refused the criticism of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on account of the border fence. French National Front and Austrian Freedom Party shows support.
The Hungarian government refuses all „ill-conceived attributes and accusations levelled against Hungary” which were made by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Sunday in connection with the measures adopted by Hungary for the protection of its borders, the State Secretary for Economic Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
Levente Magyar had a meeting with the French Ambassador to Budapest in the afternoon, who was summoned to the ministry after the French Foreign Minister referred to the conduct of some Eastern-European countries as „scandalous” in connection with the migrant crisis in an interview, and especially criticized Hungary on account of the border fence. The State Secretary pointed out: the border protection measures do not only protect Hungary but every Member State of the EU, and these measures serve the security, order and peace of every EU Member State.
The State Secretary highlighted: Hungary is protecting the outside Schengen borders as required under EU law. Additionally, based on the Schengen rules, borders may only be crossed at the designated official border-crossing stations; i.e. Hungary is doing nothing other than directing the "flood of migrants”, which is increasing day by day, towards the official border-crossing points, he explained.
Mr Magyar believes the words of the French Foreign Minister are especially unacceptable and incomprehensible as they "seem to indicate a degree of indifference and insensitivity as well as a lack of information", given that only recently "a fence taller than the Hungarian one” has been built at Calais, in France.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó on Sunday called Fabius's criticism "outrageous and perplexing”.
Secretary General of the French National Front, Nicolas Bay denounced the "irresponsible and insulting" remarks of the French Foreign Minister. Fabius insulted a "sovereign country that protects the external border of the European Union", Bay stressed, adding that Hungary's efforts are even more important as the EU has abolished the internal border controls with the "disastrous" Schengen agreement. According to Bay, instead of demanding Hungary to dismantle the barrier and instead of giving lessons to other European countries, Fabius – who's remembered for praising the jihadist Al-Nosra Front that is responsible for the exile of many Syrians – should rather consider how to defend the French people from mass immigration.
When asked about the Hungarian border fence on Puls 4, president of the Austrian Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache said that the EU has abandoned the member states who were forced to do unilateral solutions. According to Strache if "Orbán hasn't taken the reins", the Schengen border to Serbia would be unprotected.
