Parliament committee sees risks in EU lifting visa requirement for Turkey

Socialist chairman of the committee, Zsolt Molnár, said the likelihood of terrorist activities in Hungary has not increased recently, but Turkish nationals travelling in Europe without visas would pose an additional security risk in the country.

Deputy head of the committee, Szilárd Németh (Fidesz), said the visa-free status of Turkish nationals would lead to increased security risks for the whole of Europe because “issuing fake visas has become a serious business”.

Ádám Mirkóczki, of radical nationalist Jobbik, said that travellers to Europe of “dubious origin” could bring about an “unprecedented” threat of terrorist activities in Hungary.

Green LMP MP Bernadett Szél said that a deal which involves holding Europe’s nation states to “ransom” must not be accepted.

Concerning the government’s declaring a state of emergency due to the migration crisis Molnár said that the situation at the border was calm and called extending such a state across the whole country “unusual”.

Németh said the declaration was based on “through professional reports and information”.