Hungary’s EU Presidency Achieves Major Success

The current agreement includes the deployment a multinational police contingent to secure the new external Schengen borders against illegal migrants. Bernadett Petri, a researcher at the Europe Strategy Research Institute of the National Public Service University, described this measure as a far more effective solution for curbing illegal migration than reintroducing internal border checks. Speaking to Magyar Nemzet about the expected accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Agreement in January, Ms. Petri credited this success to the efficiency of Hungary’s EU presidency.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and European Council President Charles Michel (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki)

Migration pact 

After 2021, Bulgaria became one of the key entry points along what's known as the Western Balkan migration route. Meanwhile, Romania began facing severe challenges with irregular migration in 2019. After several failed attempts to breach the Hungary-Serbia state border, smugglers and migrants shifted their efforts toward Romania, bypassing Hungary’s border fence. Ms. Petri explained that the new agreement, or pact, includes the deployment of a multinational police contingent to secure the new external Schengen borders against illegal migration. She highlighted that this approach is a far more effective method for curbing illegal migration than the reintroduction of internal border checks.

The creation of the Schengen Area is one of the greatest achievements of European integration, she declared.

– “However, over the past decade, the Schengen zone has come under growing pressure due to the EU’s mismanagement of the intensifying migration crises, as evidenced by the trecent months' terrorist attacks in Germany.  This has led several Schengen countries to reinstate border checks, initially as temporary measures, but increasingly for extended periods,” Ms. Petri explained.

Can we expect change in the EU?

– “Ensuring the functionality of the Schengen system is a treaty obligation for the EU. Migration policy plays a key role here, because the reintroduction of internal borders signals that a member state considers its public order and internal security so severely threatened that it must sacrifice one of Europe’s most valued achievements: a borderless union,” Ms. Petri remarked. 

Under current EU treaties, the bloc cannot take any actions that jeopardize the functioning of the Schengen Area, nor should it place member states in positions where they feel compelled to restrict this achievement due to the glaring failures of EU's migration policy,

– she added. When asked whether the formation of a new U.S. administration under Donald Trump could influence the EU's migration policy, ms. Petri suggested that this is not solely tied to the American elections. “In the medium term, Trump’s migration policies could guide European policy toward reason and protecting European interests. At the very least, they could provide a counter-example for Europe, demonstrating that migration policy can indeed be driven by common sense.”

What we see now in terms of migration indicates that the will and expectations of European citizens cannot be sidelined indefinitely. This was already evident at the October EU summit, where European leaders took positions on migration that differed from their earlier stances,

– she explained. She noted that with elections approaching in several European countries, the promise to handle illegal migration effectively has become a mobilizing force for voters. However, as this is impossible with the current EU rules, the Netherlands -  for instance - has sought exemptions from certain EU regulations, while other countries have decided to reinstate the internal borders, thereby undermining the Schengen Area’s functionality.

Cover photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and European Council President Charles Michel (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki)