Minister Edtstadler Met With Hungarian Minister Varga in Vienna
Austrian Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler has met with the Hungarian Minister of Justice Judit Varga in Vienna where they talked about current challenges such as illegal immigration and the Russian aggression on Ukraine.
Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler Met with the Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga in Vienna. / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Andy Wenzel
On Monday, Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler met the Hungarian Europe and Justice Minister Judit Varga for a meeting in Vienna. In addition to the rule of law, the talks in the Federal Chancellery also focused on the preparation of the EU special council and the current challenges in the fight against illegal migration. Another topic was the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, with Edtstadler underlining the importance of unbroken solidarity with Ukraine and unanimous support for the sanctions against Russia.
"As a neighboring country, Hungary is an important partner of Austria and I would like to thank my Hungarian counterpart for the open and constructive discussion, also about the challenge in the area of the rule of law: As a cornerstone of our European community of values, this is non-negotiable," stressed Europe Minister Edtstadler after the meeting with Minister Varga. Edtstadler made it clear to her counterpart how important further progress is in eliminating the existing challenges in the area of the rule of law. A constructive and honest debate is of great importance here.
Given the preparations for the extraordinary European Council of Heads of State and Government in February, the counterparts exchanged views on the issue of migration. The Austrian Minister for Europe highlighted the "5-point plan" presented by Austria and stated how important the implementation of and compliance with the Dublin Regulation is for a sustainable and functioning migration system. To be successful in the fight against illegal migration, "to ensure order at the borders and to put an end to the inhuman business of people smugglers," close, constructive cooperation is required, according to Edtstadler. The basic requirement for this is compliance with EU law. "The fact is that 75 percent of all illegal migrants are registered in Austria for the first time. According to the existing system, this would only be possible if they parachuted into Austria. We, therefore, need sustainable solutions at the EU level and every member state has to contribute. Prior to the European Council at the beginning of February, we will therefore work towards an honest discussion and possible solutions being discussed," concluded the Europe Minister.
According to Vienna.at, Edtstadler also underlined the importance of unbroken solidarity with Ukraine and unanimous support for sanctions against Russia, which had launched a war of aggression in Ukraine. The right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had repeatedly crashed planned EU sanctions against Russia in the past few months.