Govt official: EU internal border controls do little to improve public safety

The Hungarian government is convinced that internal EU border controls are ineffective in improving public safety in the bloc, a government official told parliament's EU affairs committee on Monday. Balazs Molnar, director for European affairs at the Prime Minister's Office, said the reinstatement of internal border controls restricts the right to free movement and had brought about tensions across the bloc. Hungary believes that instead of imposing internal controls, the EU should focus on protecting its external borders, he said. Molnar said the best solution on internal controls would be the implementation of a plan recently proposed by Bulgaria, which holds the EU's rotating presidency. This plan outlines specific regulations on handling internal controls, he said.