EU Interior Ministers Agree to Strengthen Border Protection Against Illegal Immigration

The focus shifts to external border protection as internal Schengen zone checks are deemed unsustainable; Hungary rejects mandatory asylum seeker relocation.

• Interior ministers from six EU countries, including the V4 group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) and Austria and Germany, have agreed to increase efforts to protect the EU from illegal immigration and target human smuggling groups.
• The ministers met in Szeged, Hungary, near the EU's border with Serbia, a key point in the so-called Balkan migration route.
• The Czech Republic's interior minister, Vit Rakusan, who organized the summit, emphasized the shared challenge of migration for Europe and the need to prevent illegal entry into the EU.
• Recent decisions by numerous European governments to reintroduce internal border checks within the visa-free Schengen zone were criticized as unsustainable, with the focus moving towards external border protection.
• Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter stated that Hungary will not accept a proposal that would distribute asylum seekers across the EU, calling it a question of sovereignty.

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