Government extends ‘state of crisis’ due to mass migration

The government has decided to extend the “state of crisis” in connection with mass migration in the interest of Hungary’s security and the protection of its borders, the government information centre announced on Thursday.

The centre said in a statement that illegal border crossing attempts have continued this year, with 7,000 attempts made since Jan. 1. It added that the situation in Serbia had now become critical, with several thousand illegal migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina and some 30,000 migrants in Greece.

Without Hungary’s southern fence and border control activities, the country would be the main transit route of illegal migration, similarly to the 2015 migrant crisis, the statement added.

The state of crisis measure enables law enforcement organisations to take “the most effective measures” against illegal entrants in the border zone and inside the country, the statement said.

The government ordered the state of crisis in March 2016 and has upheld the measure since.

Source: MTI