Hungary: Merkel thanks Hungary on 30th. anniv of 'Pan-European Picnic'

*NO CUTAWAYS AT SOURCE*
M/S German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Hungarian President Viktor Orban at joint conference in Sopron
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "We talked, as the premier already said, about the armament cooperation, we are both members of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) which is why this armament cooperation is so important. We talked about Great Britain's exit, which we accept as a reality, I am sorry about it of course, but this is how it is but of course we want the best possible relationship with Great Britain in future. We also talked about the region of the western Balkan, not only from a Hungarian perspective but also from a German perspective it is important that these states can become member states of the European Union. If you look at it geostrategically and look on the map then a united Europe will only exist with the states of the western Balkans."
SOT, Viktor Orban, Hungarian President (Hungarian): "Expansion of the EU was an important issue of our talks. You also know that this issue is vital for Hungary since the southern borders of the European Union coincide with Hungary's southern borders and our interest is that the West Balkans become part of the European Union as soon as possible."
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "Of course, a part is that we operate border protection and we have the same opinion in regards of a European, collective border protection. To maintain the Schengen area, the liberal area, we have to better protect our borders and that succeeds the best when you talk with the states in Africa, in Turkey, in Iraq or wherever refugees are coming from and to right mistakes with agreements so that everyone can profit from it and that people can stay in their homes."
SOT, Viktor Orban, Hungarian President (Hungarian): "30 years ago the reason why we tore the walls down is that they (the Germans) can be free and live in safety. Now 30 years later, the reason why we are protecting Southern borders of Europe is that they can continue living free and in safety."
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "Our bilateral relationships are good, that doesn't mean we do not have different opinions on some matters. I believe we completely agree when the question is that people have to have conditions in their homelands that do not force them to flee, that we will help in that case, we said that. Where we differ is perhaps when people are already here who have the right to stay then Germany has the Geneva conventions and then these people also receive visas but we must take the craft of traffickers because those are not legal ways but illegal ways which are used by trafficker who base their business on migrants and refugees which we cannot support."
SOT, Viktor Orban, Hungarian President (Hungarian): "If there's anybody who can stop that pressure from the South it's Hungary. It is Germany's only chance, it is Austria's only chance not to be flooded by illegal immigrants that Hungary is defending the Southern borders and it's defending them well."
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): "I want to say thank you for the invitation to participate in the 30th anniversary of the Pan-European picnic and we cannot pay tribute enough to this event. World history was written, it was an essential building block also for the fall of the Berlin wall, it was an essential building block for the unification of Europe and the fact that Hungary has now been a member of the European Union for 15 years is also related to this event. This is why I would like to thank the Hungarian population in advance of the national holiday for the courage that was summoned back then and Germany will never forget that about Hungary."
M/S Merkel and Orban shake hands before leaving
SCRIPT
German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined Hungarian President Viktor Orban at a press conference in Sopron on Monday, where she thanked her Hungarian hosts for the role they played in the fall of the Iron Curtain, while downplaying the disagreements between the two leaders.
Merkel, who was in Hungary for the first time in over four years, attended a ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the 'Pan-European Picnic' peace demonstration which was held on in Sopron, on the border with Austria, on 19 August 1989, which is widely seen as the first step towards the fall of the Iron Curtain.
"World history was written, it was an essential building block also for the fall of the Berlin wall, it was an essential building block for the unification of Europe and the fact that Hungary has now been a member of the European Union for 15 years is also related to this event," said Merkel about the picnic.
Orban shared his view that Hungary was acting as a bulwark against illegal immigration to the benefit of Austria and Germany.
""If there's anybody who can stop that pressure from the South it's Hungary. It is Germany's only chance, it is Austria's only chance not to be flooded by illegal immigrants that Hungary is defending the Southern borders and it's defending them well," Orban noted.
"Our bilateral relationships are good, that doesn't mean we do not have different opinions on some matters. I believe we completely agree when the question is that people have to have conditions in their homelands that do not force them to flee," said the German Chancellor adding that the two countries still have different views on how to proceed once the refugees are already in the country.
The Hungarian leader also expressed his belief that EU expansion needs to continue in the Western Balkans commenting that "this issue is vital for Hungary since the southern borders of the European Union coincide with Hungary's southern borders."