Szijjártó summons Swedish ambassador
kormany.hu/Gergely Botár
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has summoned the Swedish Ambassador after recent critical statements of Hungary by several Swedish ministers in relation to Hungarian migration policy.
The recent meeting between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini triggered several comments, including those from Swedish politicians. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Margot Wallström wrote on Twitter: “Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Matteo Salvini in Italy want to form an alliance against the democrats and the left in Europe.”
Speaking at a seminar on EU issues in southern Sweden, Swedish Migration Minister Heléne Fritzon criticised Hungary’s refugee policy, explaining that at a meeting of EU ministers she had reminded her Hungarian counterpart about 1956, when Sweden had gladly received Hungarian refugees. According to the Swedish minister, Hungary should be expected to undertake a similar responsibility within the EU’s joint refugee policy.
Szijjártó reacted on Thursday in a statement posted on the government website, saying that “the pro-immigration Swedish government has launched yet another attack against Hungary.”
“Margot Wallström claimed that Viktor Orbán and Matteo Salvini are fighting against the democrats, i.e. against democracy, which is a lie. Viktor Orbán and Matteo Salvini were very clear: they are fighting against illegal immigration,” Szijjártó noted. “Viktor Orbán and Matteo Salvini are representing the will of the European people in view of the fact that they do not want illegal immigration,” he added.
The Swedish Migration Minister drew a parallel between the Hungarian refugees of 1956 and illegal immigrants, Szijjártó recalled.
“In 1956, the Hungarian refugees waited in neighbouring countries for a state to receive them, while conforming to national and international law,” he commented, pointing out that illegal immigrants “gallop across a host of safe countries, break the law and represent a danger to our security.”
Sweden’s Ambassador to Budapest, Niclas Trouvé, recently stated that he “expects Hungary to lose... meaning he has clearly taken the side of the Soros organizations,” Szijjártó said, adding that for the above-mentioned reasons the ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Thursday.
MOL Shareholders Approve Dividend of Around HUF 250/Share
Gov't Awards HUF 6.5 bln of Subsidies to SMEs in Underdevelo...
Hungary's Largest ESG Consultancy Formed by Merger of EY, De...
Liz & Chain Rooftop Bar Debuts Sustainable Cocktails
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
