A few weeks later, however, even the Austrians started to erect a fence.” The situation has changed by now, Szijjártó said, referring to the German and Italian interior ministers’ statements on the need to set up refugee camps in Africa rather than Europe, and the Swedish prime minister’s call for defending the EU’s external borders. “Hungary has not changed its position.

To be more precise, it was not Hungary that had to change its position,” Szijjártó said. The minister added, however, that “the struggle in Brussels continues”, with the European Commission’s vicepresident wanting to quarrel with Hungary and Poland on European values. “Brussels has missed the target. Brussels wants to suppress its member states and let illegal migrants in,” he said.

Calling this approach unacceptable, Szijjártó said that Hungary’s laws are unambiguous, letting no one enter the country’s territory before their requests for asylum are assessed. Many in Brussels have become detached from reality, from everyday life and “unfortunately from the people they should represent”, he said.

Abstract debates over a single-speed or multi-speed Europe may be held but they lead nowhere, he said. Instead, the correct direction should be identified and then “we could go into fifth gear”, he said.

The correct direction would be putting an end to hypocrisy and “politically correct” speech, calling a spade a spade, communicating with the public honestly, in clear terms and giving genuine answers to challenges, he said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI Photo: KKM