Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban praised his host, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, for taking on the historic mission to stop the inflow of migrants after talks between the two in Milan on August 28. The leader of Italy's smaller governing party said Italy and Hungary are working to create a future alliance in preparation for the European parliamentary elections.

Since the 2015 crisis, when hundreds of thousands of people marched through Hungary illegally, Orban’s right-wing nationalist government made the fight against migration a top priority and its populist policies have helped it to gain a third straight supermajority. Besides having the Visegrad countries (Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) on his side on the issue, Orban has sought new allies in its fight against illegal migration with the rise the of anti-immigration, populist governments in Italy and Austria.

The meeting in Milan came just days after Italy's latest standoff with Brussels over immigration, which led to scores of migrants being held on a coastguard boat moored in Sicily for days until a relocation deal was struck enabling them to disembark on Sunday.

Salvini, who serves as deputy prime minister, has spearheaded Italy's policy of forcing other European countries to take in newly rescued migrants from the sea, and Rome has long been an advocate of the EU's relocation scheme to ease its burdens, firmly rejected by Budapest.

Top officials from his coalition partner, the Five Star Movement (M5S) said EU funds to Hungary should be suspended because it was unwilling to take in migrants.

Calling Salvini a hero, Orban said that Europe's security hinges on the Italian minister's success. Hungary will provide Italy with all assistance to protect its borders, he added.

The next European Commission and parliament should send illegal migrants back to their homeland, and build up the bloc’s border defences against illegal migration, he added.

Orban's supportive visit to Italy is seen as the start to the campaign for next May’s European parliamentary elections, which the Hungarian PM billed as a battle between Europe’s liberals and populists with migration as the defining issue.

Concerning the European People's Party, of which Orban's Fidesz is a member, he said that there are two camps; one is led by French President Emmanuel Macron, who wants to “blow up the EPP”, being the leader of a political force which supports migration. In the other camp, there are countries which want to stop illegal migration. 

Salvini said at the press conference that his talks with Orban mark the start of efforts to build a new Europe. He said efforts were underway to create a new political alliance in preparation for the European parliamentary elections to bring about a new Europe, a new European Commission.

He added that Europe was ahead of a decisive turning point and said that next year's elections would be a historic moment for the community.

The tide of public opinion in Europe is turning and people on the continent "are fed up" with Brussels's pro-migration policy, a Hungarian government spokesperson said before the meeting. A solution to the problem of migration must be found outside Europe, he said, adding that economic migrants must be returned to their home countries.