Hungarian PM visits Vienna to improve relations

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vivited his Austrian counterpart, Chancellor Werner Faymann this Friday to ease tension between the two neighboring countries and discuss what could happen next in the handling of the flow of migrants through the Balkans and Hungary to Austria and Germany.

At an international press conference held at the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna, the Prime Minister told the press that he had initiated the meetings with Austria’s political leaders, whom he reassured of Hungary’s wish to preserve the traditionally good relations between the two countries.

He stressed that the talks were constructive and took place in an atmosphere of goodwill, and that while there were differences, everyone was eager to overcome them. Therefore the Prime Minister said that “Austrian-Hungarian relations are better now than they were at 8.00 a.m. this morning”.

PM Orbán said that Hungary has two options. The first of these, proposed by Croatia, is the establishment of a migration corridor leading to Austria; this was rejected by the Austrian leadership, as it is contrary to EU and international regulations. The Prime Minister said that there could be no corridor to Austria, as a corridor cannot be set up without the acceptance of the country at the end of it.

Therefore, the task in hand, he said, is to create a border control system between Hungary and Croatia like the one on the Serbian border, which has met expectations. This would be in order to guarantee European norms in border crossing, the Prime Minister said, highlighting that this is something that Austria itself acknowledges – though not wholeheartedly.