SALZBURG, Austria — French President Emmanuel Macron said EU countries that fail to show solidarity on migration should be kicked out of the passport-free Schengen area.
“Countries that don’t want more Frontex or solidarity will leave Schengen. Countries that don’t want more Europe will no longer touch structural funds,” he said at a press conference after a meeting of EU leaders where migration and Brexit were on the agenda.
Macron was referring to a European Commission proposal to increase the number of Frontex (European Border and Coast Guard Agency) guards from 1,600 to 10,000. That plan has been criticized by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán who on Monday told the parliament in Budapest that “we will not give up our right to defend a border, no one can take an iota of that away from us.”
Orbán also refused to take in any asylum-seekers under an EU-wide relocation scheme despite being ordered to do so by the European Court of Justice.
Other Eastern European countries, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia, oppose the Frontex plan but Macron’s comments appeared to be aimed at Orbán.