Referendum – MoMa campaigns for invalid vote or staying away
Budapest (MTI) – Former finance minister and leader of the non-parliamentary MoMa party Lajos Bokros addressed a demonstration on the square in front of parliament on Sunday, campaigning for an invalid vote or staying away from the Oct. 2. EU quota referendum.
The referendum aims to divert Hungary’s attention from a “corrupt governing power”, the failures of education and health-care and an authoritarian leadership, Bokros said. He said xenophobia will lead to “the demise of the Hungarian nation”, adding that “a respectable person should not answer a despicable question.”
Ruling Fidesz group spokesman János Halász said people who protest and call for boycotting the Oct. 2 referendum actually want to say ‘yes’ to forced settlement but do not dare to openly say this. Just a week before the referendum, the opposition are still “sneaking, protesting and practicing party politics” while they are “unable to comprehend” that Hungary’s future is at stake.
Photo: MTI
Referendum – Official: Oct. 2 vote to determine government mandate against quota scheme
Budapest, September 23 (MTI) – The strength of the Hungarian government’s challenge against Brussels’ mandatory migrant quota scheme will depend on how strong a mandate it will receive from voters in the Oct. 2 referendum, deputy parliamentary leader Gergely Gulyás said on Friday.
The quota referendum is about much more than a few thousand migrants “or the fact that the European Union should theoretically not even have the authority to make a decision” in a matter in which it was not even given power to do so, Gulyás said at a conference about Hungary’s future, organised by the Alliance of Young Christian Democrats.
The referendum is also about national identity, values-based disputes and what kind of societies Hungarians envision for future Europe, he said, insisting that the matter at hand in the referendum is above party politics.
He argued that while the majority of voters in western Europe were also for stemming the migrant inflow and protecting Europe’s external borders, last year the “European politicsl elite” and “Brussels bureaucrats” were “celebrating anarchy” and considered ignoring the Schengen rules to be “the right European behavior”. He said those who had adhered to the various international treaties in the management of the migrant crisis were considered “bad Europeans”.
Gulyás said countries that fail to honour their commitments relating to border protection have no place in the Schengen area.
Photo: MTI
CNN interview with the Hungarian foreign minister: referendum, migration and other interesting topics
New York, September 23 (MTI) – Violating borders between peaceful countries and picking a country to live in are not basic human rights, Hungary’s foreign minister said in an interview to CNN on Friday.
As a country adhering to international law, Hungary respects the right to a safe life as a fundamental human right, Péter Szijjártó said, rejecting the suggestion that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was whipping up an anti-migrant fervour in Hungary.
“There are rules and regulations how you can cross borders… And if there are people who, by will, do not respect our laws and regulations, violate our borders, we will not accept them,” Szijjártó said.
On the subject of Hungary’s border fence, he said Hungary was not the only country to have installed a barrier on its border, noting that Bulgaria had also built a fence and that Britain was in the process of building a wall to replace its fence in the northern French port of Calais.
Szijjártó argued that the reason why his country had received criticism for its handling of the migrant crisis was “because we comply with all the regulations and rules… which are valid in the European Union.”
He said the most important question regarding the future of Europe was whether member states would let the European Commission push them to give up part of their sovereignty and regulate whom they have to take in. “And it is only the Hungarian people who can make a decision about that regarding Hungary.”
Szijjártó said he understood that “everybody is very angry” in Europe. “Because there’s a growing gap between the European people and the European political elite.”
Responding to the argument that Hungary is having a referendum about migrant quotas but not on the upgrade of its nuclear power plant in Paks, Szijjártó argued that no European countries had held referendums about their nuclear plants.
Asked what the government would do if it lost the Oct. 2 migrant quota referendum, Szijjártó said: “We’re not going to lose.” He stressed, however, that win or lose, the government will respect the result of the referendum.
He insisted that Hungary as a sovereign country has the right to say whether or not it agrees with certain policies. “And we definitely totally disagree with the current European migrant policy, because it’s bad. It’s harmful for Europe, very harmful for Europe.”
Hungary rejects the quota system because it is “unimplementable”, goes against “common sense” and “violates the current European regulations”, Szijjártó said.
Referendum – LMP: Government threatening localities with funding cut ‘unacceptable’
Budapest, September 23 (MTI) – Ruling Fidesz has been putting pressure on the local assemblies to support a “no” vote in the Oct. 2 European Union quota referendum, threatening to withdraw municipal funding if they refuse, Ferenc Gerstmar, a spokesman for the opposition LMP party said on Friday.
“This is unacceptable,” Gerstmar told a press conference, adding that Fidesz had reportedly ordered Fidesz leaders in each constituency to maximise the “no” vote. These Fidesz officials sometimes turn to local mayors, demanding their public support for the government’s campaign and suggesting that funding to their village or town could depend on the result of the referendum.
LMP believes it is reasonable to assume that local council decisions on referendum-related issues are put on a list and localities are assessed based on their stance on the EU resettlement quota. Gerstmar said these methods were “unacceptable” and reminiscent of the single-party system.
“This is an attack on the political independence of local government,” he said.
LMP also condemned the practice of local councils spending on the campaign from their own budgets. For instance, Budapest’s Jozsefvaros district has put aside 10 million forints (EUR 32,600) while Tatabanya, in central Hungary, will spend 3.5 million forints, Gerstmar said.
Referendum – Orbán rejects Vona’s demand for debate – UPDATE
Budapest, September 23 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not publicly debate opposition Jobbik leader Gábor Vona, who has challenged him to a debate on the Oct. 2 referendum on European Union migrant quotas alongside Gyula Molnár, leader of the Socialist Party, Orbán’s press chief said on Friday.
The prime minister holds the view that the referendum is an issue of national significance that transcends party politics, and that is why he will not participate in a public debate, Bertalan Havasi told MTI. Vona told a press conference earlier today that he wanted the debate because it is normal for party leaders in “a civilised country” to air their views before highly important events such as the upcoming referendum.
“Viktor Orbán has been shying away from participating in a public political debate for the past ten years, so it would be welcome if he now appeared again in public to present his arguments,” Vona said, adding that such a debate could even help Orbán if he really values a high turnout.
Concerning the quota scheme, Vona said multiculturalism “has no place” in the country. Hungarians should vote “no” in the referendum, he said.
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Jobbik, however, wants a constitutional amendment on the issue rather than a national ballot.
Vona insisted that the prime minister carried the burden of responsibility for the referendum: if it turns out to be invalid, Brussels will have “written proof” of Hungary’s failed rejection of the quota scheme.
“In that case Viktor Orbán must resign,” he said.
UPDATE
Socialist leader Gyula Molnár said he is ready to take part in the public debate.
“Such a debate makes sense, particularly now, in the current state of the country,” he said on his Facebook page, suggesting that beside migration, the issues of education, health care and poverty should also be addressed.
Weekly government press briefing about securities market, referendum and immigration – UPDATE
Budapest (MTI) – The government plans “major changes” on the state bond market after Standard and Poor’s raised Hungary’s rating last week, government office chief János Lázár said on Thursday. A successful Oct. 2 referendum in terms of turnout and the number of ‘no’ votes would authorise the government to propose changing Hungary’s constitution and even European law, he said. Hungary is expected to come under massive pressure in the near future, Lázár said.
Govt to rethink securities market on back of S+P upgrade
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has asked Economy Minister Mihály Varga to review financial opportunities arising from the upgrade, Lázár said at his regular weekly press conference. Varga will examine opportunities on the market for state bonds and will propose changes by December, he said.
“An upgrade is not merely symbolic; it has a practical impact, too,” he said. This marks a new chapter in state securities trade and in state financing itself, Lázár added.
Asked whether the government plans to enter the foreign-currency bond market again, Lázár said “every possibility will be weighed”.
Lázár also said that these changes would present a good opportunity to review the institutional system behind residency bonds.
Constitution may be changed in light of referendum result
Lázár told that Scandinavian countries have asked the EU to launch an infringement procedure against Hungary for refusing to take back migrants. Punishment or legal pressure is on the cards, he said, referring to EU migrant quotas and Hungary’s forthcoming referendum seeking rejection of the redistribution scheme.
Since Greece will not take migrants back, Hungary would have to accommodate 30,000-50,000 migrants and provide them housing and other services, he said.
“Other countries like Austria and Germany are biding their time because they know migrants first entered the EU elsewhere,” Lázár said.
Hungary is expected to come under massive pressure in the near future. For this reason, it is imperative that the Oct. 2 referendum on European Union migrant quotas has an unambiguous outcome, he said.
Lázár said that what was at stake in the referendum was whether Hungarians could form a consensus, or a “national bloc”, transcending party affiliations which therefore could not be ignored by Brussels. “The referendum is not about the government but about the lives of each of us and with whom we choose to live,” he said.
Lázár said German Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently declared she would turn back the clock if she could. But this is not possible, he said. The only solution is to send refugees to beyond the EU borders, he added.
Hungary is among the EU countries that show the greatest solidarity because it is protecting the bloc’s borders with no support from the community, Lázár said. In contrast, in the past 18 months to date, the European Commission has “not produced a single unambiguous remark on protecting the borders,” he insisted.
No breakthrough was reached at the informal EU summit in Bratislava last Friday with a view to changing Brussels’ position on migration policy, he said. This Saturday there will be a meeting with countries on the western Balkan route which will provide another opportunity to put pressure on EU policymaking, Lázár said.
Greece and Germany are the key countries to resolving the current migrant crisis, he said. Greece ignores and sabotages Schengen rules without facing EU sanctions, while Germany’s failure to impose a firm ceiling on the number of migrants it is prepared to take in continues to have a “suction effect”. Until they change their policies, tensions along the Balkans migrant route could explode at any time, Lázár said. If Greece continues to ignore EU rules with impunity, Bulgaria and Macedonia may assume a growing role in shutting down the Balkan route, he added.
Concerning “no-go zones” in European cities, Lázár insisted that the government’s leaflets reflected reality. “The government has a duty to inform the public about facts on the ground,” he said. The government does not want to hurt any of its partners, but voters should have a clear-eyed view, he insisted. The government understands why protests against its assertions have been made but “Berlin, Brussels, Paris and London have areas where it is inadvisable to go in the evening.”
Concerning Austria drilling foundations for a fence along the Hungarian border, Lázár said Austria was on the verge of its load-bearing capacity. “It is good news for them, however, that Hungary’s fence along the Serbian border is stopping migrants heading for Austria,” he added. Hungary insists that the Austrian measures should not hamper Hungarian commuters. These would also harm the Austrian economy, he added. Austria has made it clear that its steps are not directed against either Hungary or Hungarian employees, Lázár said.
The government office chief called it a “blatant lie” that Hungarian police officers had been violent towards migrants along the Serbian border.
“It is not the police but illegal migrants who attacked the border fence, stormed Budapest’s Keleti railway station and occupied the Budapest-Vienna motorway last year,” he said.
Hungary expected to come under huge pressure on migration
Addressing his regular weekly press conference, Lázár said that what was at stake in the referendum was whether Hungarians could form a consensus, or a “national bloc”, transcending party affiliations which therefore could not be ignored by Brussels. “The referendum is not about the government but about the lives of each of us and with whom we choose to live,” he said.
Lázár said German Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently declared she would turn back the clock if she could. But this is not possible, he said. The only solution is to send refugees to beyond the EU borders, he added.
Hungary is among the EU countries that show the greatest solidarity because it is protecting the bloc’s borders with no support from the community, Lázár said. In contrast, in the past 18 months to date, the European Commission has “not produced a single unambiguous remark on protecting the borders,” he insisted.
No breakthrough was reached at the informal EU summit in Bratislava last Friday with a view to changing Brussels’ position on migration policy, he said. This Saturday there will be a meeting with countries on the western Balkan route which will provide another opportunity to put pressure on EU policymaking, Lázár said.
Photo: MTI
Referendum campaign costs at least 36.5 million forints?
Budapest, September 22 (MTI) – The government is spending at least 11.3 billion forints (EUR 36.5m) on the EU quota referendum campaign this year, four times what the ruling Fidesz party spent on its general election campaign in 2014, the opposition Socialists said on Thursday.
Based on data obtained from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) through an official request, the total cost of the referendum, including organisation, could be as high as 16-17 billion forints, spokesman Tamás Harangozó told a press conference. This equals the annual payroll budget of the National Ambulance Service, he said.
Detailing campaign spending, Harangozó said the government had signed two contracts between December 2015 and August 2016 to the tune of 6.5 billion forints. In August, the government signed two further agreements for communications totalling 5 billion forints, he added.
The winners of the contracts were close associates of senior Fidesz officials, such as the neighbour of cabinet chief Antal Rogán and Andrew Vajna’s TV2, which won 75 percent of national television spots. Fully 80 percent of radio adverts went to government-friendly broadcasters Karc and Sláger FM, Harangozó said, citing PMO data. Again, 80 percent of online adverts were carried by the Modern Media Group and other websites close to the government, he said.
In addition to spending already accounted for, the government printed 500,000 letters addressed and mailed to Hungarians living abroad, as well as sending 4.2 million copies of a government booklet to households in Hungary. The costs of these operations have not yet been disclosed, Harangozó said.
Csaba Dömötör, states secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement accused Harangozo of providing “misleading data” on the referendum, even though the government had made all data available. He added that the aim of the government’s campaign was to inform “every Hungarian citizen … about the Oct. 2 referendum”. This is important, as the decisions made in Brussels have grave economic, cultural and security risks, Domotor said. The amount spent on the campaign is still a fraction of what would be spent on handling the migration crises if Brussels succeeded in implementing its resettlement measures, the statement said.
Photo: MTI
Interview – Orbán hopes referendum ensures “strong sword” against Brussels
Budapest, September 22 (MTI) – Hungary’s upcoming quota referendum will determine “how strong a sword voters can forge” to use in their fight against “Brussels bureaucrats”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview to news portal Origo on Thursday.
In his interview, Orbán said should the European Union “force upon us” mandatory migrant quotas, “it would impact each Hungarian municipality”. “Unless we reject the forced quotas, a resettled migrant family might suddenly turn up next door,” he argued.
Orbán said the October 2 referendum is crucial for Hungary’s future, and added that “all voters are needed”. “A single person disinterested in their homeland’s future is a disappointment. I would only be satisfied if a full 100 percent of voters turned up,” the prime minister said.
Concerning migrants, Orbán said that all illegal entrants should be rounded up and placed in camps set up outside the EU, with financial assistance from the community.
“Migrants could then submit their applications, and if they find a recipient country, they could come,” he said.
The EU’s external borders must be protected or else “the problem will reoccur”, Orbán said. Borders should “not be eliminated but used” because they ensure protection, he argued. “I would not like to see… Hungary change its culture. I love this country as it is and would not want anyone to change it on instructions from the outside,” the prime minister insisted. “We will have a referendum so that Hungarians can indicate if they want change under a utopia or if they prefer staying Hungarian as they have through the centuries,” he added.
Concerning the future of the EU, Orbán said that earlier links between member states, such as the euro zone, are “no longer sufficient”. New links are needed, such as a common military, he said, but added that he would not like “some kind of United States of Europe” to emerge.
In his interview, Orbán dismissed allegations that the referendum could pave the way for early elections. Early elections are usually triggered by a “clear, obvious cause”, he said, but added that it was not the case in Hungary, because the country is “going in the right direction”.
On the subject of the presidential election in the US, Orbán said Europe was interested in an American administration which “does not seek to export democracy or destabilise regions, and which promotes the sovereignty of nations in terms of migration”. “That is what Mr Trump talks about, while Ms Clinton talks about maintaining what Europe has been suffering from,” Orbán said.
Referring to parliament recently lifting the immunity of a Fidesz MP on suspicion of graft, Orbán said that Roland Mengyi must provide “clear and straightforward” answers to the authorities concerning the charges. He added it was “reassuring” that “not a single forint” from the central budget had been used illegally.
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Photo: MTI
Over 70 pc of Hungarians reject EU’s migrant quota – SURVEY
Budapest (MTI) – Some 72 percent of Hungarians are against the automatic distribution of asylum-seekers within European Union member states and 78 percent would vote ‘no’ at the Oct 2 referendum on EU migrant quotas, the Századvég Foundation said citing a September survey on Tuesday.
Századvég conducted its survey between September 7 and 12.
The representative survey based on interviewing more than two thousand adults by phone showed that only 3 percent of Hungarians would vote ‘yes’ at the upcoming referendum.
In the referendum Hungarians will be asked:
“Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of parliament?”
Supporters of the ‘no’ vote said it was a matter of sovereignty, with 61 percent saying it is the Hungarian people’s right to decide with whom they want to live with. Some 36 percent of ‘yes’ supporters said even though they did not agree with Brussels’ proposal, they could not accept the government’s position, either.
A total of 60 percent of the people interviewed said they expect a sweeping victory of the ‘no’ vote and 18 percent said the ‘no’ vote is expected to win with a narrow majority only. Even 54 percent of the people that plan to vote ‘yes’ said they expect the rejection of the quota to win on Oct 2.
Some 78 percent of the people asked said organised criminal groups were behind the terrorist attacks in Europe rather than lone attackers. A total of 65 percent said the misinterpretation of Islam was the main cause of terrorist attacks and 46 percent said it was poverty.
A total of 60 percent maintained the view that primarily economic migrants are arriving in Europe. They said migrants’ motivations are varied, with 60 percent naming better work prospects and 51 percent also stating political reasons.
Photo: MTI
Watch here the Jobbik’s offical campaign video with English-French-Italian subtitles
This is the Jobbik’s official campaign clip regarding the referendum held on October 2, in Hungary, about the re-localization of migrants.
Vona calls on Hungarians to vote ‘no’ on Oct 2
Jobbik party leader Gábor Vona on today called on Hungarians to vote “no” in the Oct. 2 referendum on European Union migrant quotas.
Everybody should participate in next Sunday’s referendum and vote “no”, he said, adding that participation was an obligation and a democratic right.
Validity is the only issue at stake in the referendum, which requires at least 50 percent of eligible voters to turn up, he said. If the referendum is invalid, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should take responsibility and resign, Vona said.
In the referendum Hungarians will be asked: “Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of parliament?”
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In English – Jobbik’s message for the referendum on October 2
In French – Clip de campagne du Jobbik pour le référendum du 2 octobre
In Italian – Messaggio dal Jobbik per il refrendum
DK: Invalid votes could be counted as valid under referendum instructions
Budapest, September 19 (MTI) – The leftist Democratic Coalition (DK) has protested against the National Election Office’s recent instructions to vote counters of the upcoming quota referendum.
DK deputy leader Csaba Molnár told a press conference on Monday that the instructions were aimed at “making obviously invalid votes valid”. He added that those votes could even be counted as “no” votes, supporting the government’s initiative.
Molnár said that “voter’s wish” was a basic consideration when deciding if a vote was valid, while the office’s instructions suggested, for example, that a vote, crossed out completely by two lines could be taken as a valid “no” if the two lines crossed each other in the circle next to that option.
Molnár referred to the instruction brochure as a “desperate attempt” to ensure validity to the government’s “pseudo referendum”, and called on voters to stay away from the polls on October 2.
Referendum – Vote against government by staying at home, say leftist parties
Budapest, September 18 (MTI) – By boycotting the Oct. 2 referendum on European Union migrant quotas, voters will be voting against the government, the opposition Együtt, Dialogue for Hungary and non-parliamentary MoMa parties said on Sunday.
Viktor Szigetvári, Együtt’s leader, told a news conference that the three parties had joined together to campaign against the government-backed referendum.
Because at least 50 percent of the electorate must turn out to vote in order for the outcome to be legally valid, the parties say the best way of ensuring defeat of the government’s initiative is not to vote at all.
Szigetvári insisted that the ruling Fidesz party and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were “lying” about Europe, asylum seekers and how to create security and cooperation in Hungary and on the continent, while “stealing our money without any inhibition.”
Bence Tordai, Dialogue’s spokesman, said that government referendum campaign in favour of a “no” vote on migrant quotas was “a tangle of lies”. He accused Orbán of misrepresenting the closing statement of the EU informal summit in Bratislava.
The European community is not about strengthening isolationist, competing nationalism but “we develop our Hungarian and European identities simultaneously,” he said.
Erzsébet Pusztai, MoMa’s deputy leader, said more and more people were noticing that the government has no solutions to important everyday problems. She said it was “scandalous” that Orban spoke of protecting Christian Europe while “trampling in the mud” basic Christian values. She added that the referendum was purely a way for Orban to preserve his power.
In reaction, the ruling Fidesz party said in a statement that the referendum would be a decision about everyone’s future and that of the country. It insisted that the decision was not about political parties or right and left.
“In Brussels there are ever more concrete and dangerous decisions being made on the settlement of migrants,” the statement said, adding that if the “quota package” is enforced, thousands of migrants will be settled into Hungarian towns and villages.
Referendum – DK puts out over 500 massive billboards
Budapest, September 18 (MTI) – The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has placed over 500 massive billboards as part of a campaign against the government’s Oct. 2 referendum on European Union migrant quotas.
Party spokesman Zsolt Gréczy told MTI on Sunday that DK volunteers were locating themselves in thousands of public areas around the country to collect signatures ahead of the closing event of the campaign on Oct. 1, when the Democratic Coalition plans to form a human chain around Parliament.
DK has called on the government to “shut down” the popular vote on migrant quotas and spend the billions of forints on alleviating child hunger instead.
Greczy insisted that the referendum had become an obsolete issue in the wake of Friday’s Bratislava European Union informal summit, where a decision was made to beef up defences of the external border and to avoid implementing binding migrant quotas. Not only is the referendum unnecessary but it is also corrosive, since it weakens Hungary’s position within the EU, he added.
The DK spokesman said that Viktor Orbán, the prime minister, was isolated in Europe. He insisted that the other leaders of Visegrad Group countries, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, had started to “back out from behind him”.
Photo: MTI
Referendum – Citizens can contribute to Hungary’s defences on Oct. 2, says defence minister
Budapest, September 18 (MTI) – Hungarian citizens will have a chance to contribute to their country’s defences on October 2 when they vote in the migrant quota referendum, Defence Minister István Simicskó told public Kossuth Radio on Sunday.
Hungary’s defence rests on three pillars: the Hungarian Armed Forces, international military cooperation and citizens’ willingness to make sacrifices, Simicskó said.
Hungarians can now feel that their help is needed, he said. But they do not need to arm themselves and go out to the border. All they they must do is show up for the referendum and reject mandatory migrant quotas by voting “no”, the minister added.
Simicskó reiterated the government stance that the referendum is a national issue independent of party politics. He said the “European elite” were still considering redistributing migrants among European Union member states, which he said would be a mistake.
He said there was a major divide between the “European elite” and EU citizens’ views on migration. The remedy is to “demonstrate strength” by asking the public for their opinion.
Simicskó said that the referendum could have ramifications beyond Hungary, arguing that if voters reject migrant quotas, more and more countries could follow Hungary’s example. This could persuade “European bureaucrats” to take into consideration European values, he said.
The terrorist attacks Europe has experienced in recent months have killed more than 300 people, bringing about a critical need to establish a joint European army, he said. The recent intense military cooperation among the Visegrad Four (V4) grouping of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, forms a good basis for such an army, the minister said. Under this cooperation, all three of Hungary’s V4 partners have sent police officers and soldiers to help patrol the country’s southern border, he added.
The minister noted that the defence ministry has begun upgrading the army and that the government has pledged to provide the funding necessary for the developments.
Meanwhile, Bence Tuzson, state secretary for government communications, said at a town hall meeting in Nagykőrös, in southern Hungary, that Hungary’s future is at stake in the referendum. If the country makes “the wrong decision” it will be irreversible, Tuzson said. He said “the world in Brussels has turned upside down” because the European Commission — which should be the EU’s executive branch — makes political decisions that member states are obliged to implement. Tuzson said the EU should return to listening to the people because the European stance on an issue should be a reflection of public opinion.
A referendum is a demonstration of the will of the people, Tuzson said, adding that if the EU went against public will, it would erase “even the illusion of democracy”.
Migrant quota referendum – Parties, NGOs continue campaigns
Budapest (MTI) – Hungary’s political parties continued their campaigns for the Oct. 2 migrant quota referendum on Saturday with three civil groups joining the fray for the “no” camp that rejects the European Union redistribution scheme.
Ruling Fidesz once again called on the left-wing parties to clarify their position on the European Union’s planned quota scheme.
Zoltán Rozgonyi, the party’s group leader in Budapest’s 14th district local council, said it was “outrageous” that the Dialogue for Hungary party’s Gergely Karácsony, the district’s mayor, had put out posters campaigning for a boycott of the referendum.
Rozgonyi told a press conference that the Fidesz group earlier attempted to pass a declaration in the council urging voters to participate in the referendum, but it was blocked by the left-wing representatives. He said this demonstrated that neither the mayor nor the left wing were willing to adopt a position on migrant quotas. Nor do they consider it important for the citizens of the 14th district to express their opinion on this matter, he said, adding that the left wing would rather leave the decision on migrant quotas up to the EU. “This is unacceptable from self-declared democratic politicians,” he said.
Rozgonyi reiterated his party’s stance that the referendum was about the future and security of Hungarian families, adding that it was only Hungarians who could decide whom they want to live together with.
The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) said that the referendum had now “truly” become devoid of purpose, arguing that EU leaders had agreed at the Bratislava summit on Friday “to strengthen joint border protection efforts and that there will not be any mandatory refugee quotas in the future”.
“Now there is really nothing to hold a referendum about. We already knew that [Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán’s pretend referendum is about his own political interests and not the refugee crisis,” MEP Csaba Molnár said. He called on the prime minister to call off the referendum so that Hungary can “save several billions of forints and avoid two weeks of hate-mongering”.
Green opposition LMP called for a uniform EU asylum procedure with a view to regulating immigration. Ferenc Gertsmar, the party’s spokesman, said the bloc should establish a new institutional system for assessing asylum requests which would serve as the central element of the new procedure.
Another important element of the system would be the establishment of EU hotspots for registering migrants, he said. LMP also supports setting up hotspots outside the EU’s territory with the use of EU funds, EU police and with help from the UN, Gerstmar said. These hotspots would make it possible to separate those who are eligible for asylum from those who are not, he added.
The LMP politician said joint EU action on the migrant crisis is impossible today because so many member states place third-party countries in different categories security-wise. The EU should also work out a uniform method for categorising third-party countries, he said.
Three conservative NGOs, the Hungarian Association for Civic Cooperation, the Alliance of Christian Intellectuals and the Batthyany Society of Professors, urged citizens to participate in the referendum and vote “no”. Gabor Naray-Szabo, president of the Batthyany Society of Professors, said they are campaigning for the “no” vote because it has become clear that migration is not a temporary problem but one that has the potential to determine Europe’s long-term future.
Zoltán Osztie, the president of the Alliance of Christian Intellectuals, said the migrant wave had been “thrust onto” Hungary by certain groups “whose goals are clearly to undermine traditionally Christian societies”. He said solidarity is a Christian value and that Hungary will admit genuine refugees. “But we have to say no to those who have been thrust onto us and who don’t look anything like refugees,” he said.
Judit Petneházy, the deputy head of the Hungarian Association for Civic Cooperation, said the association’s mission is to preserve Hungarian, national and European cultural values.
Photo: MTI
Hungary’s foreign minister: Brussels ‘clearly’ pressing for migrant quota
Budapest (MTI) – The European Commission and the European Parliament have made it “entirely clear” that their support for mandatory migrant quotas is unbroken, Levente Magyar, state secretary at the Hungarian foreign ministry, told a press conference on Friday.
Institutions of the EU are “systematically working to resettle an enormous number of immigrants of unknown origin and intent” in member countries, Magyar insisted. The EU “wants to dictate its will” on member states, and “forcefully” distribute “thousands” of migrants among them, he argued. He warned that if that happens, Europe would face “political, cultural, economic and security challenges unprecedented in the past 70 years”.
Introduction of the migrant quota system can only be prevented through action by member states, such as Hungary’s upcoming anti-quota referendum, he insisted.
Referendum – Hungarian, Norwegian Liberals campaign for ‘yes’ vote
Budapest, September 16 (MTI) – The leaders of the Hungarian and Norwegian Liberal parties on Friday urged Hungarians to vote “yes” in the Oct. 2 migrant quota referendum.
At a joint press conference with Hungarian Liberal Party chief Gábor Fodor, Trine Skei Grande, the head of Norway’s Liberal Party, said she wanted to persuade Hungarians to participate in the referendum because voting is a key part of democracy.
In the referendum Hungarians will be asked: “Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of parliament?”
Grande urged Hungarians to vote “yes”, arguing that Europe has to confront its challenges together.
Fodor said both the international perception of Hungary and its future depend on the outcome of the referendum. A “yes” vote will mean standing up for European values and it will send a message to the government that it is on the wrong track, Fodor said.
Radio interview – Orbán: Hungary wants to ‘act’ on illegal migration
Budapest, September 16 (MTI) – Hungary’s view on the migrant crisis is that “we must act, not surrender”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public Kossuth Radio in an interview aired on Friday.
Orbán said illegal migrants can indeed be kept out with the use of physical barriers.
Hungary’s interest lies in stemming the migration pressure on Europe at the southernmost point possible, and the country is therefore ready to help Serbia, Bulgaria and Macedonia in this regard, the prime minister said.
Orbán said the mentality that “there is no way they [migrants] can be stopped … we’d better start thinking about how we can take them in” constitutes “nihilism”. The people in Brussels are well-intentioned but naive, Orbán said, adding, however, that in a situation like the migrant crisis, naivety can “come back to haunt” Europe.
If the US is capable of keeping illegal immigrants from crossing its southern border with the use of physical barriers “then I don’t see why we Europeans couldn’t be capable of the same thing,” Orban said.
He said illegal migration is a matter in which it becomes “completely clear” that the solution is not to give more powers to the EU but rather to help member states fulfil the border protection commitments they had made in the Schengen Agreement. “But right now the situation is reversed because Brussels wants to curb the powers of member states in connection with the migrant crisis,” the prime minister said.
Orbán said there is a lot at stake in Hungary’s Oct. 2 migrant quota referendum, arguing that if the EU’s planned migrant redistribution scheme is implemented, the EU will “take money away” from Hungary and spend it on “the migrants arriving here”. He said this would also apply to cities where leftist parties are in control of the municipal government.
This is why the referendum is not a partisan issue but a national one, Orbán said. The prime minister said he knew the direction Hungary could take after the referendum, adding, at the same time, that this also depended on the outcome of the vote.
Hungary is working on trying to thwart the European Commission’s migrant redistribution scheme, if not in the European Parliament then at least in the European Council, he said.
Regarding Friday’s informal EU summit in Bratislava, Orbán said the EU will have to confront the mistakes it had made recently, the consequences of which he said have been Britain’s decision to quit the bloc and a threat of terrorism stemming from uncontrolled immigration.
Orbán said that while most migrants are entering Europe through Italy for now, he expected the migration pressure to increase on the Balkans route again once the weather worsens and the sea route to the continent becomes harder to travel.
He said that before the Bratislava summit the Visegrad Four countries will submit a document of their joint proposals to the European Council.
He advocated providing EU aid to Bulgaria with a view to helping it in its border protection efforts. He added that Bulgaria’s border fence should be strengthened, too. The prime minister said there was a good chance that the EU will agree to help Bulgaria, arguing that it would be unfair of the bloc to abandon one of its own member states that is under migration pressure while it “sends large sacs of money” to non-EU countries.
Photo: MTI