Orbán cabinet: European Commission would turn Europe into ‘immigration continent’

The European Commission’s approach to handling migration, and its attempt to turn Europe into an “immigration continent”, are diametrically opposed to the wishes of the government and people of Hungary, the state secretary for international communication and relations told a press conference on Monday.

The Hungarian government has addressed repeatedly the commission’s “attempts to hide the plans and ideas” still on the table regarding illegal migration, Zoltán Kovács said.

One such plan is debit cards for migrants, basically a system of support created by circumventing the most important decision-making bodies, he said.

Over 60,000 received such cards this January alone, with the whole programme costing over 110 million euros, Kovács said. The system of debit cards “begs a thousand questions”, and demonstrates a will to legalise illegal migration, he said.

Other elements of the system are the concept of migrant visas and the mandatory resettlement quota, which are still on the agenda, he said.