Neighbouring countries to follow Hungary in rejecting the UN migration pact
November 6th, 2018A pro-government commentator welcomes Austria’s decision not to sign the United Nations Migration Compact which has already been rejected by Hungary. He hopes Poland and the Czech Republic will soon follow suite and slams EC Chairman Juncker who urged European unity on foreign policy issues.
In Magyar Hírlap, Ottó Nagy praises Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria who announced last week that his country will not join the international ‘compact’, a non-binding UN declaration of principles on migration, because the text does not distinguish refugees from economic migrants.
The United States and Australia withdrew from the negotiations within the United Nations after suggesting that the draft would practically declare a right for all people to settle in the country of their choice, while Hungary walked out for the same reason just before the final vote.
Nagy slams Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission who openly criticised Austria and expressed the wish that EU countries should stand together on international issues. The pro-government commentator deems it particularly revolting that Mr Juncker proposed that foreign policy decisions should be taken with a qualified majority of votes to override objections by individual countries. Such a solution would be in open violation of the Lisbon Treaty, he remarks, and angrily ascribes such a proposal to Mr Juncker’s alleged drinking habits. Meanwhile, he finds relief in the news that events are moving in a direction very different from the one envisaged by the President of the EC, as PM Andrej Babiš of the Czech Republic expressed his wish that his country will join Austria and Hungary in rejecting the migration pact as it ‘blurs the difference between legal and illegal migration’. Nagy also rejoices to report that, PM Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland said his country was likely to reject the UN refugee compact as well.