site.btaHungarian PM Orban Proposes that Decision on Bulgaria's, Romania's Full Schengen Membership Be Taken by Year’s End

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban proposed that a decision on Bulgaria and Romania's full membership in the Schengen area be approved by the end of the year. He said this on Wednesday when presenting the programme of the Hungarian rotating presidency of the Council of the EU to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Referring to the return of internal border controls by Germany, Orban said that the proper functioning of the Schengen area must be restored, and again proposed a system of high-level meetings on the subject. "Illegal migration and fears for security have led to border controls being reinstalled. I think it's now time to deal with this at the highest political level. And to see whether we can re-establish the proper functioning of the Schengen Area. The Hungarian Presidency is making a proposal that is to create a system of Schengen summits. We should organize Schengen summits on a regular basis, so that the Heads of government of the Schengen countries can come together, because this has happened already," he said recalling the practice of euro zone countries in the wake of the 2008 crisis.

He said further, "The Hungarian Presidency is not just proposing that we strengthen the Schengen Area. The Hungarian Presidency is also proposing that by the end of the year, Bulgaria and Romania should fully join the Schengen Area."

Orban said that the fight against illegal migration is one of the main priorities of the Hungarian presidency. He noted that guarding the EU's external border is in the interest of the entire EU, so support must be given to the countries along it.

The Hungarian Prime Minister reiterated his proposal to set up registration centres outside the EU for migrants wishing to enter the Union, and pointed out that the current asylum system does not work.

According to Orban, illegal migration gives rise to anti-Semitism, various incidents, and an increase in homophobia.

He said that the EU is not able to guarantee proper security, so there is a need to build and strengthen the defence industry. As a good example, he gave his country, which invests 2.5% of GDP in defence.

Orban pointed to the EU's competitiveness as another key issue for the Hungarian presidency. He reported that in recent years economic growth in Europe has been much lower than in the US and China. 

The Hungarian Prime Minister said that productivity is growing more slowly, trade is slowing down, and natural gas is 4-5 times more expensive for European producers. According to him, dependence on Russian energy sources has endangered GDP growth, so the EU needs to support the energy sector and build LNG infrastructure.

The green transition is not an energy solution, he said, and his expectation is that the number of companies relying on fossil fuels will not fall by 2030. 

Orban also reiterated his call for accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU. He said that several candidate countries meet the technical conditions, but there is no political unanimity, and promised to organize a summit on their integration.  He said, "It's the Hungarian Presidency's firmly belief that we need to accelerate the accession of the Western Balkans. This is a key issue for Europe: integrating the Europe economically in terms of security and also geopolitically. It is advantageous for the European Union. We need to focus in particular on Serbia. Without Serbia joining the EU, we cannot stabilize the Balkans. As long as Serbia is not a Member of the European Union, the Balkans remain an unstable region."