NewsBorrell dismisses Hungary's claims of EU mandatory military draft

Borrell dismisses Hungary's claims of EU mandatory military draft

Borrell emphasized that the EU does not have the competence to announce a draft
Borrell emphasized that the EU does not have the competence to announce a draft
Images source: © Getty Images | miodrag ignjatovic
Adam Zygiel

3 June 2024 05:53

The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, refuted the comments of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto about the purportedly planned mandatory military draft in Europe. "We are very far from having such powers," he said, emphasizing that such a decision belongs to the member countries.

On Monday, Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs posted about the Hungarian Foreign Minister's participation in a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. According to the statement, Szijjarto condemned the proposals regarding the allegedly mandatory military draft in Europe as "unacceptable" and declared that the government would strongly oppose "sending youth from Central Europe and Hungary to fight in Ukraine."

When asked about this at a press conference after the meeting, the head of EU diplomacy smiled and refuted this claim.

- The European Union cannot announce a mandatory military draft. We are so very far from having such powers - he emphasized.

He emphasized that this is a decision that belongs to the member countries. I read in the newspapers that the United Kingdom is considering it, but the European Union cannot do such a thing and is not even considering it.

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