Hungarian government outraged over the EU ‘migration pact’

Hungary will continue to reject migrants and will maintain the legal and physical border seal, regardless of the migration pact adopted in Brussels on Wednesday, the foreign minister said.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Paks, in central Hungary, Péter Szijjártó said the migration pact being debated in the European Parliament “is green-lighting illegal migration”.

The pact, Szijjártó said, would expand a “Western European problem” to central Europe, “rooted in them giving up their identity, culture and the protection of their society”, and had created parallel societies and increased the threat of terrorism, the ministry said in a statement.

Hungary has been protecting the Schengen borders and the external borders of the EU for 9 years, Szijjártó said.

“Not only did the government not receive support from Brussels for that, but there is constant pressure to give up border protection,” he said.

Regarding the upgrade of the nuclear plant in the town, Szijjártó said stability was a key element of the works, “so it would be helpful if we could continue to work with the current [municipal] leadership”, he said, referring to the local elections in June.

He regretted that the EU’s approach to matters of energy were subject to a “politicised, ideological debate”. Those debates “are threatening the energy supply of European countries”, he said.

Paks upgrade progressing on schedule

Hungary, a landlocked country without oil and gas, relies on nuclear energy to produce large quantities of cheap, reliable, safe and sustainable energy, he said.

The upgrade of the plant, led by Russian state-owned Rosatom, is progressing on schedule, according to an “agreement that is advantageous concerning the technology as well as financing”, he said. The new blocks are expected to start operation at the start of the next decade, enabling Hungary to detach itself from the “turmoil of international energy markets”.

Meanwhile, “the EU discusses weekly ways to cram a ban on Russian nuclear industry down Hungarians’ and central Europeans’ throats”.

“That would threaten our national security and economic interests. We have made it clear that we would veto any sanctions targeting nuclear cooperation with Russia,” he said.

The delivery of nuclear fuel has been uninterrupted so far, and Hungary has no intention to change suppliers, he said.

Government: Migration pact to further aggravate situation in Europe

The European Union’s migration pact would “further aggravate an already serious migration situation in Europe . it would contribute to the emergence of further migrant ghettos,” an MEP of ruling Fidesz said in Brussels on Wednesday.

Balazs Hidvéghi said after an European parliamentary debate on new migration and asylum regulation that the package would “forcibly introduce” a system in which decisions on asylum applications would only be made “after the illegal migrant [applicants] are allowed to enter”. “And we know that Europe is unable to send migrants back to their countries of origin . even if they could not lawfully stay in the EU.”

“The migration package … would open Europe’s gates wide before illegal migrants,” the MEP insisted. The package is aimed to “repeat and push all the earlier proposals that have turned out to be impracticable and unsuitable for resolving this problem,” he said. A mandatory distribution of illegal migrants and penalising member states refusing to accommodate those migrants were among the failed, earlier ideas, he said.

Hungary only EU member having a really effective system

Hidvéghi said Hungary was the only EU member having a “really effective system … built on a legal and physical border seal”. “Hungary has demonstrated that migration could be stopped if there is a political will and action … we will insist on maintaining that system,” Hidveghi said.

The EU package is “an open attack” against Hungary and its migration rules, he said, adding that “Hungarians made it clear on several occasions that they don’t want illegal migration and would not accept Hungary’s becoming a migrant destination … they don’t want us to give in to pressure from Brussels,” Hidvéghi said.

MEPs of Hungary’s Fidesz rejected the package and “will protect Hungary’s independence, sovereignty and the security of its citizens among all circumstances,” he said.

Illegal mass migration would lead to the “disintegration of society”.

In his contribution to the debate, Hidvéghi said the “essence” of the debate was not helping refugees. “We all want to help people in need. This debate, in its essence, is about whether or not we are able to preserve our European identity, our way of life, norms, culture and traditions,” he said.

He said supporting mass migration was putting those values at risk. “It is in reality a social transformation project that is imposed upon the European people”, mostly without asking their opinion, he said. He warned that illegal mass migration would lead to the “disintegration of society”. “Public safety is deteriorating, the state is losing control,” he said.

Hungary would not relinquish its way of life and the protection of its safety and culture, he said. “The Hungarian people have been asked about this issue, and they repeatedly rejected illegal mass migration. This is why we firmly reject this pact,” he said.