The EC is ready to consider the Hungarian request for financial aid in dealing with mass migration, but the EU does not finance the construction of border fences, spokesman Alexander Winterstein said in Brussels.

The EU could support border control measures such as surveillance equipment, he added, “but fences, we do not finance”.

“We note that the Hungarian government now acknowledges that solidarity is an important principle of the EU,” Winterstein remarked.

He stressed, however, that European solidarity is a “two-way street,” not an “a la carte menu where you pick one dish, for example border management, while refusing another dish, like relocation of asylum seekers”.

Winterstein recalled that the EU had earlier contributed to the costs of Hungarian border defence. The new request will be examined within a short time and if necessary the Commission will provide support to Hungary, he added.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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