Hungarian government: Quota referendum needed more than ever

Budapest, July 20 (MTI) – The Hungarian government believes that its planned referendum on EU migrant quotas is now needed more than ever, Antal Rogán, the cabinet chief, said on Wednesday.

At a press conference following a cabinet session convened to discuss the European Commission’s quota scheme, Rogán said the government had reached the standpoint that there was now “a threat of great danger” and that the Brussels proposal would totally deprive member states of their legal powers in the area of refugee and immigration policy.

He added that the commission’s proposal is not simply about the mandatory distribution of migrants among EU member states but also concerned withdrawing from countries their right to judge asylum requests.

Rogán said the commission wanted to set up a jointly run European refugee office in which the “outstretched hands of the Brussels bureaucracy” would assess all asylum and immigration claims and decide on whom to accept before distributing them among the 28 members of the EU.

“This is completely unacceptable and would present a huge risk and danger…” he said, adding that it would make it clear that the mass influx into Europe would continue instead of signalling that it must come to a halt.

“The best kind of influx is zero influx,” he said.

The commission’s plan is a drawback for Hungary and the other countries belonging to the Visegrad Group not only because it would make settlements mandatory alongside sanctions for countries that do not accept migrants, but because money would probably be diverted away from farming subsidies and cohesion funding to pay for the upkeep of migrants, he said.

The cabinet chief said the government would raise objections to the commission’s plan at every available opportunity, starting with a summit of the V4 on Thursday.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI