OREANDA-NEWS. A terrorist attack committed at a Christmas fair is a clear message that terrorists want to destroy not only our everyday lives, but also our religion and culture: they want to annihilate the entire European Christian civilisation, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stressed on the anniversary of the Islamist terrorist attack committed in Berlin on 19 December last year.

He highlighted that 12 citizens of six nations lost their lives, and another 48 were injured at the Christmas fair after a terrorist of the Islamic State who arrived in Europe as an illegal immigrant years before drove into the crowd. Attacks on European Christian civilisation form part of a process which must be brought to an end, and therefore every possible action must be taken to combat illegal immigration, Mr Szijjártó pointed out.

He drew attention to the fact that the Western Balkans was one of the routes through which most illegal immigrants came to Europe. Therefore, one of the most important tasks of the period ahead will be to keep the Western Balkans migration route closed. “To achieve this, we must help the countries which are prepared to protect their borders, and in consequence the whole of Europe. We are able to help these countries best by accelerating their European integration processes”, Mr Szijjártó added.

On 19 December last year Anis Amri, a Tunisian asylum-seeker whose application was rejected committed an attack in Berlin. The Islamic extremist killing in the name of the terrorist organisation called Islamic State drove into the crowd at one of the German capital’s most famous Christmas markets on Breitscheid Square in a stolen truck. The perpetrator fled the country after the attack and died a few days later in a shoot-out with the police in one of Milan’s suburbs, in Italy.