Brussels ‘has declared war’ on protecting EU’s external borders, says Orbán’s minister

Brussels has declared war on the protection of the EU’s external borders, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the prime minister’s office, said in an interview with the Austrian Freedom Party’s Neue Freie Zeitung newspaper.

Protecting the EU’s external border is also the protection of the Schengen zone, and this makes sense only if genuine refugees are able to travel to Europe, he said, adding that this is why Hungary set up so-called transit zones in 2015.

Gulyás said Brussels had sent “a message of war” by suing Hungary, and the European court of justice decided this practice was illegal, even though the Strasbourg European Court of Human Rights had earlier ruled to the contrary.

Hence, Hungary changed the relevant law, he noted, adding that Serbia was considered an EU candidate country and a safe state, so asylum applications can now be submitted at the embassy in Belgrade.

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He said the European Commission challenged this, and the court of justice “ruled against the protection of external borders and for mass migration”, ordering Hungary to pay a fine of 200 million euros and a million euros per day until the ruling is accorded with.

Hungary, he added, would neither pay the fines nor allow migrants into its territory. Gulyás said that if Brussels wanted migrants in Europe, “it must take care of them itself”. He said Hungary was “ready to give one-way tickets to migrants” to travel further into Europe in response.

Austria would be full with migrants without Hungary’s help

He said both Austria and Hungary had an interest in protecting the EU external borders, adding that it was regrettable that the Austrian government had not supported Hungary’s related endeavours.

“Hundreds of thousands of migrants would flock to Austria” if Hungary didn’t protect the borders, he insisted.

Meanwhile, Hungary has given asylum to tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine, while genuine refugees from other continents were only in the dozens, he said.

Hungarian and international law state that those persecuted in their own country are entitled to asylum in the first safe country. Migrants that have come to Europe via safe countries “aren’t seeking asylum but a better life”, he added.

Genuine refugees receive food, health care, temporary housing, clothing and toiletries in Hungary, he said, though because there are enough job opportunities, money is not provided. The state offers paid public employment if a job is not otherwise available, he noted.

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