Hungary rejects “colonist-tone” French remarks

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France should not lecture Hungary in a colonistic tone as to who should get European Union funding, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szíjjártó said in a television interview.

Minister Szíjjártó – quoted by news portal Origo.hu – was responding to recent French comments, adding that Hungary never was and is not a French colony and EU funding is distributed based on established treaties. The flip side of the coin is that Hungary has opened up its market to the benefit of Western companies.

“We will never leave such remarks unanswered,” Minister Szíjjártó said

Asked whether in next week’s European Parliament debate of the Sargentini report Hungary will be reprimanded, he did not wish to speculate, but said that “we will see whether MEPs are defending the interests of the European people or they will fall for a smear campaign against Hungary”,

The minister said the crux of the issue is migration. Many Brussels officials want to alter the composition of the European population and these pro-migration forces cannot accept that there are governments for whom the security of their citizens is paramount.

“We must offer assistance at the source of the problems, not bring the problems here,” Minister Szíjjártó said, adding that importing the problems is irresponsible and hypocritical.

The Hungarian government, on the other hand, is building churches, schools and hospitals at the sources of migration through its “Hungary Helps” program and primarily supports Christian communities.