Orbán: No chance for EU agreement on migration

Since Hungary and Poland were “totally left out” of the new migration package, it is impossible to reach a new agreement because “legally we are raped”, the prime minister said.

“So after this, there is no chance to have any kind of compromise and agreement on migration. Politically it’s impossible. Not today, generally speaking, for the next years,” he said.

Concerning EU enlargement, Orbán said Hungary promoted expanding the bloc, but several member states were citing “enlargement fatigue”, which he said was “not fair” to those awaiting membership.

Orbán said Hungary backed Georgia’s accession to the bloc, and a joint government meeting will be held in Tbilisi next week.

Regarding Ukraine’s EU outlook, he called for a strategic review, saying the accession of a country at war would be unprecedented and this raised “too many questions”. First, the strategic foundations must be clarified, such as why integrating Ukraine would be good for the EU, what the consequences of doing so are and “how much money we’re talking about”, he said.

Also, he added, there were security questions in the areas of cohesion policy and agriculture, and an entirely new type of agriculture would emerge.

Answering journalists’ questions, Orbán said Azerbaijan was a decisive country without which energy independence from Russia could not be attained, and Hungary already had a deal with Baku on gas deliveries.

He said the southern energy corridor was crucial for Hungary, especially after the terrorist disabling of northern routes, and guaranteeing its security was a priority.

Addressing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, the prime minister said Pristina must change its attitude. In the past two years, he said, the Kosovans had provoked the Serbs, rocking the region’s stability which depended on Serbia. Any sanctions against Belgrade would be “impossible” and “ridiculous”, he added.