Migrant wave not to ease in winter, says analyst

Budapest, September 24 (MTI) – The number of migrants is not expected to drop considerably in the winter, the director of Hungary’s Institute for Migration Research told daily Magyar Hirlap on Thursday.

Citing statistics, Balazs Orban said that the figures did decline in the winter of 2012 and 2013 but clearly increased in the winter of 2014, reflecting a change in motivations for migration.

Conditions in Turkish refugee camps will continue to deteriorate, especially in the winter. A few years ago many Syrians chose to return to their homeland at that time, but now they are more inclined to set off towards Europe, he said.

Concerning the six proposals Prime Minister Viktor Orban put forward in Brussels, the director-general said that the European Union underestimates the importance of defending its borders.

“The prime minister focuses on preventing the next wave of migrants rather than on a system of distributing those who are already here,” he said.

Nevertheless, it was not a defeat for Hungary that the European Union approved the quota regime for distributing migrants, he said. This way Hungary avoided being declared a frontline country, which would have involved the admission of several tens of thousands of migrants over the next years in hot spots, namely EU refugee camps.

“With the quota regime, Hungary will have to take in a maximum of 1,000 migrants which is a manageable crowd,” he said.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters

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