Hungarian government: Number of migrants arriving in Europe could double

On Friday, Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács told Hungarian television channel M1 that, according to recent surveys and reports, the number of migrants arriving in Europe in the last quarter of the year could even be as high as the total number of those arriving in the first three quarters.

Mr. Kovács said that this tendency is also suggested by statistical data from the last four to five years: the last quarter of the year is typified by those who have already set off seeking to enter Europe at any cost. He said that there are millions in the Middle East and North Africa who are ready to set off. He added that organised crime and terrorism form the background of the instigators of migration, and that currently pressure is also increasing at the Hungarian borders.

He went on to say that this is why the Government has decided to increase police personnel by three thousand, and to organise them into border guard units.

Mr. Kovács also said that it seems that an increasing number of EU Member States are beginning to realise that the relocation quota is not a solution, but proposals from Brussels indicate that the European Commission is seeking to implement the mandatory relocation system.

This means, he stressed, that Brussels does not want to hinder migration but make it legal, and this will ultimately lead to a dead end.

Regarding the proposal by certain European politicians that EU funds should be withdrawn from those countries opposing mandatory relocation, Mr. Kovács called this blackmail, and thus unacceptable. He pointed out that such funds have nothing to do with the quota system.

On Kossuth Rádió’s “180 Minutes” programme, Mr. Kovács underlined that the Government’s continuation of the information campaign on migration is not just an opportunity, but a duty, and this is all the more so because migration is increasing.

He believes that the European Commission is covertly trying to adopt rules which go beyond basic European treaties. Immigration policy falls within national competencies; therefore in this case Brussels’ policy – which is seriously damaging the whole of Europe and its Member States – must be blocked, he said.

According to Mr. Kovács the quotas cannot be regarded as a measure of solidarity, because migrants do not want to go to Riga or Warsaw, but to various German cities.

Source: MTI/kormany.hu