The Visegrad Group in solidarity on the protection of the EU borders
11.10.2021
“We will not allow the border to be forced by immigrants, we will not allow a migration crisis to arise. The border of our countries is also the border of the European Union. We are in solidarity with each other. We are focused on the protection of that border, these are the efforts made by Poland. The format of the Visegrad Group countries is a format that we appreciate” - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence during the meeting in Hungary.
On Monday, October the 11, the head of the Ministry of National Defence chaired the Polish delegation during the meeting of foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group countries with the minister of foreign affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, which was held in Budapest. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk.
“My presence in Budapest is undoubtedly related to the migration crisis. As the Minister of National Defence, I share equal responsibility for the protection of the Polish border. Of course, that main burden remains on the minister of the interior and administration and the Border Guard, but as we know, the Border Guard is supported by the Polish Army " - emphasized the head of the Ministry of National Defence.
During the meeting, ministers shared their experiences, observations and assessments related to the incidents at the EU borders. They also discussed the situation in the region of the Middle East and North East Africa, as well as in the Central Europe and the Western Balkans. The topics included, inter alia, issues related to illegal migration and terrorism, which threaten the security of all countries participating in the meeting. The interlocutors also referred to the issue of possible energy cooperation between the European Union and Egypt (Egypt has a chance to become a significant exporter of LNG).
Minister Mariusz Błaszczak spoke with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt about the role of this state in limiting the fact of illegal migration.
"I would like to express my gratitude for the conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, for the attitude of the Egyptian authorities, for everything related to inhibiting the process of illegal migration. We also talked about the terrorist threats. There is no doubt, the Western Europe experienced it, that the migration crisis was followed by a crisis related to terrorist attacks. We constitute responsible governments, we will not agree to expose our citizens to a terrorist threat ”- emphasized the minister.
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