On Thursday in Luxembourg at the meeting of EU Ministers of Interior so far there has been no consensus reached on when Romania and Bulgaria could join the Schengen zone.

Hungary acknowledged this situation with regret – announced the Ministry of Interior, which was represented at the meeting by Károly Kontrát, State Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs.

The ministers of interior discussed illegal migration, with a special emphasis on the pressure exerted by Western Balkan countries on the EU. The Hungarian delegation reported on actions taken so far and on the Austrian-Hungarian-Serbian cooperation.  According to the Ministry of Interior the EU “will continue to support our efforts, primarily through the Frontex Agency”.

The EU Home Affairs Council discussed abuses by certain West-Balkan countries’ citizens in EU member states when burdening the refugee-systems with unfounded asylum requests. Acknowledging these difficulties, the Hungarian standpoint is that visa-free travel, being an important element of these countries’ European perspective, is a value that needs to be protected, with regard to the interest of the majority and bona fide travellers.

At the meeting the Hungarian delegation reported on the Salzburg Forum conference in Mátraháza on 11 October, where ministers of interior from eight EU countries, Croatia, the Western Balkans and Moldova were present, along with Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

At the Luxembourg meeting a political agreement was reached on the directive setting standards for the reception of asylum applicants. The directive, supported by Hungary, is an important feature of the Common European Asylum System, with the goal of determining conditions suitable for asylum seekers and ensuring similar living conditions to the minimal services available in the receiving countries. Member states will have untile end of 2014 to transpose the directive into domestic law.

(Prime Minister’s Office)