Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman met with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto in Budapest on Friday and they agreed on the need to fight for a new common asylum policy and against illegal migration.

“It’s necessary to fight for a new common asylum policy and against illegal migration and smuggling,” Grlic-Radman said. “It’s necessary to distinguish between refugees, where we are bound by the Geneva Convention, and illegal migration, on which some smuggling rings are making a lot of money.”

Budapest and Zagreb share the same views also on EU enlargement and the EU’s ambitious Multiannual Financial Framework, Grlic-Radman said.

He reiterated that Zagreb and Budapest had “centuries of uninterrupted ties” and excellent relations, that the two peoples were “well-connected” and that, in the European context, the two countries were an example of a good solution concerning minority communities.

The two ministers also talked about Croatia’s current presidency of the European Union. Grlic-Radman recalled that in 2011, when Hungary chaired the EU, it helped Croatia a lot. “Thanks to Hungary, we completed the negotiations and became an EU member within two years.”