Orbán: Hungary’s future at stake in ‘irreversible’ migration vote – TV2 interview

Budapest (MTI) – Commenting on the Oct. 2 referendum on European Union migrant quotas, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday in an interview: “We can’t afford to make a mistake on migration, because not only would our Hungary change but the Hungary of our children and our grandchildren would be very different…”

“There are some decisions that can be changed, but on the issue of migration this is something that, if we make a mistake, then we’ll never be able to alter it,” he told commercial broadcaster TV2. “This is what the endless internal disputes and tensions in western European countries are about,” Orbán added.

“People understand this situation, they know this is about the future of the country. Still, parties have different views, the left is generally pro-immigration and the right wants to keep the country as it is. Those who don’t take part in Sunday’s referendum leave the decision to those who do,” the prime minister said.

Orbán said that with the outcome of the referendum in hand, he would travel to Brussels next week to negotiate the quota regime. “The EU is a democratic community; if one nation is against a regulation, it cannot be forced upon it,” he said. “This is what I would like to enforce.”