(ANSA-AP) - BUDAPEST, 3 GEN - The prime ministers of Hungary
and Poland said Wednesday their countries' anti-immigration
policies are gaining strength within the 28-nation European
Union.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, making his first
bilateral visit since assuming office in December, and his
Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, pointed to Austria, where
conservative and nationalist parties formed a coalition
government last month.
"Democracy has been restored in Austria because the Austrians
who reject immigration elected a government which also does
not want immigration," Orban said. "This will be the case
everywhere in Europe and I believe it is only a matter of time."
Morawiecki said the immigration issue, which he called a
matter of national sovereignty, was "getting even hotter" in
the EU "and it seems that it is going in our direction."
The two leaders again rejected EU efforts to resettle refugees
among members of the bloc, while emphasizing their
contributions to rebuilding efforts in the Middle East aimed
at keeping more people at home.
"The EU's immigration policy is not working. What is more, it
is not only not working but it has failed spectacularly,"
Orban said. "It is clear that the European people don't want
immigration, while several European leaders are still forcing
the failed immigration policy."
Poland is facing possible sanctions from the EU because of its
perceived erosion of democratic principles, including recent
steps increasing government control of the judiciary. While
Orban has vowed to block any punitive measures against Poland
by the EU, neither leader mentioned the issue during their
news conference in the Hungarian parliament. (ANSA-AP). PABLO
GORONDI
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