Hungarians afraid of migrants more than average – Survey

Budapest, August 11 (MTI) – A higher proportion of Hungarians are afraid of migrants than the average in a 22-nation survey conducted by Ipsos, with 55 percent of Hungarians supporting the border fence and 72 percent concerned about disguised terrorism.

Some 62 percent of Hungarians believe that the motivation for migrants is to live in better economic conditions and get access to welfare, health and education services, Ipsos said in a statement on Thursday.

The pollster asked 16,000 people between June 24 and July 16. The countries involved were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Only 6 percent of Hungarian respondents said migration could have positive consequences.

A total of 85 percent of those asked in Hungary said the number of migrants increased in the past five years and 57 percent said migrants pose extra pressure on public services. Some 41 percent of Hungarians said migrants could have a negative impact on the labour market but 33 percent said skilled migrants should be given a chance to find jobs.

Only 13 percent of Hungarians said that migrants made Hungary “a more interesting place”, the second lowest rate in the list of 22 countries.

Bobby Duffy, managing director of the Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute, said that in none of the 22 countries surveyed did the majority say migration had a positive impact on their country. Views against migration were the strongest in Turkey, Italy, Hungary and Russia, he added.

Fidesz: Quota referendum could be wake-up call to Brussels

hungary eu flag

Budapest, August 10 (MTI) – Hungary’s Oct 2 referendum on the European Union’s planned migrant quotas could work as a wake-up call to Brussels and change their current unrealistic way of thinking, the ruling Fidesz party‘s group leader said late on Wednesday.

János Halász responded to a report in German daily Die Welt on statements by head of the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee Inge Graessle, who is a CDU politician, and European Parliament Vice President Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, representing the liberal Free Democratic Party of Germany. The politicians urged the EU to withdraw support from member countries that do not demonstrate solidarity in their refugee policy.

Halász told public news channel M1 that politicians who make such statements have lost touch with reality and have no idea what the arrival of 1.5 million migrants would mean in everyday life. These politicians “fail to understand this” and they focus on the issue of migrants rather than on Europe’s security.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/tag/referendum-on-migrant-quotas/” color=”black” newwindow=”yes”] All news about REFERENDUM ON MIGRANT QUOTAS[/button]

The Oct 2 referendum will reveal whether the migrant policies of “the Brussels elite” are acceptable or not, Halász said. He expressed hope that other countries will hold similar popular votes.

LMP says Socialists wrong to sit out election law amendment talks

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, August 10 (MTI) – The Socialist Party was wrong to stay away from a meeting parliamentary parties held earlier this week to discuss a possible amendment to Hungary’s election law, green opposition LMP said on Wednesday.

Representatives of ruling Fidesz, Jobbik and LMP met on Monday for talks on the possibility of changing the election law with a view to making it easier for Hungarians working or studying abroad to vote. The meeting was initiated by Jobbik, who had also proposed that parliament meet for an extraordinary session later this month to change the rules pertaining to postal voting.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/no-amendment-likely-election-law-connection-quota-referendum/” type=”big” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Related article: NO AMENDMENT LIKELY TO ELECTION LAW IN CONNECTION WITH QUOTA REFERENDUM[/button]

Under the current election rules, Hungarians who have a permanent address in the country but are abroad on the day of an election or referendum can only vote at a Hungarian embassy or consular office near them, while ethnic Hungarians living beyond the border can vote by mail.

LMP spokesman István Ferenczi told MTI on Wednesday that without the Socialists, the opposition does not have enough MPs to call an extraordinary session of parliament. He said that if the Socialists choose not to take part in the work of parliament then they should not collect their paychecks either.

Regarding Monday’s talks, Ferenczi said Fidesz gave a “cynical” argument for rejecting the possibility of an amendment. Fidesz group leader Lajos Kósa said then that the current election law is “coherent and has stood scrutiny by international organisations such as the European Court of Human Rights and the Venice Commission”. He also said that amending the election law at this point would make it impossible to hold the migrant quota referendum on October 2 as planned.

Ferenczi said LMP’s amendment proposals include introducing electronic voting, restoring the institution of the popular initiative and making constitutional amendments and the privatisation of public services subject to referendums.

He said LMP is ready to hold talks with Fidesz on amending the election law, adding that if the ruling party does not initiate such talks then his party will.

Socialists: refusal to vote at October referendum means “stay in Europe”

EU flag

Budapest, August 9 (MTI) – “Those who stay at home on October 2 will stay in Europe”, the opposition Socialists said in a single-sentence response to the ruling parties on Tuesday calling on the left wing to make their position clear about the resettlement of migrants.

The left-wing parties should make it clear if they support “forced resettlement and Brussels moving migrants to Hungary above the heads of the Hungarian people,” spokesman István Hollik of the co-ruling Christian Democrats told a press conference.

Socialist Party leader Gyula Molnár said on Monday that the party plans to launch its campaign for Hungary’s migrant quota referendum on September 1. In the campaign, the party will urge voters to abstain from voting on Oct 2, Molnár said in Nyíregyháza, in north-eastern Hungary.

For the Socialists, the referendum is about saying “no” to the prime minister’s political and tactical goals and saying “yes” to Europe, Molnár insisted.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/tag/referendum-on-migrant-quotas/” type=”big” color=”red” newwindow=”yes”] Read more about REFERENDUM ON MIGRANT QUOTAS[/button]

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?”

Socialists to launch quota referendum campaign on September 1

Daily News Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – The Socialist Party plans to launch its campaign for Hungary’s migrant quota referendum on September 1, party leader Gyula Molnár announced on Monday.

In the campaign, the party will urge voters to abstain from voting on Oct 2, Molnár said in Nyíregyháza, in north-eastern Hungary.

“We are deliberately avoiding the word ‘boycott’,” Molnár said.

“We accept the institution of the referendum and acknowledge that it is an important democratic tool,” he added.

Molnár said the party does, however, want to be on the vote counting and election committees and wants to participate in monitoring the voting process.

He reiterated his party’s stance that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party are using the referendum to pave the way for Hungary’s exit from the European Union.

For the Socialist Party, the referendum is about saying “no” to the prime minister’s political and tactical goals and saying “yes” to Europe, Molnár insisted.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/quota-referendum-in-hungary-here-are-the-newest-billboards/” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] QUOTA REFERENDUM IN HUNGARY: HERE ARE THE NEWEST BILLBOARDS[/button]

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?”

Molnár said that a victory for the “no” vote would “move things in an impossible direction” while a win for the “yes” vote would just legitimise the referendum. He suggested that the referendum would have little impact, if any.

He noted that Hungary joined the EU under a Socialist-led government in 2004, adding that in 2016 it will be the Socialist Party that “defends Hungary and its EU membership”. He said those who agree with this will have no choice but to stay away from the referendum so that the turnout is below the 50 percent validity threshold.

Csaba Dömötör, state secretary of the prime minister’s cabinet office, responded to Molnár’s remarks saying that the left was “still pro-immigration”.

Gyula Molnár’s remarks clearly indicate that the Socialists are still refusing to clarify whether they are for or against the “forced settlement” of migrants in Hungary, Dömötör told MTI. “Their call for a boycott of the referendum is irrefutable proof of this,” he added. Dömötör said a parliamentary party could rightfully be expected to be “honest” in matters that significantly impact the future of Europe and Hungary.

 [button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/tag/referendum-on-migrant-quotas/” type=”big” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Read more news: REFERENDUM ON MIGRANT QUOTAS[/button]

No amendment likely to election law in connection with quota referendum

Budapest, August 8 (MTI) – No amendment to Hungary’s election law can be expected after talks were held on Monday among parliamentary parties at the initiative of patriotic Jobbik in connection with the form of voting at the Oct. 2 migrant quota referendum.

Under the election rules currently in place, Hungarians who have a permanent address in the country but are abroad on the day of an election or referendum can only vote at a Hungarian embassy or consular office near them, while ethnic Hungarians living beyond the border can vote by mail.

Jobbik called for five-party talks on a possible amendment to the election law allowing Hungarians working or studying abroad to vote in the referendum by mail. The party also initiated a special parliamentary session for August 18 to amend the law.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/jobbik-initiates-special-parliament-session-amend-election-law/” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] JOBBIK INITIATES SPECIAL PARLIAMENT SESSION TO AMEND ELECTION LAW[/button]

The talks on Monday were attended by lawmakers of ruling Fidesz, Jobbik and opposition LMP. The allied ruling Christian Democrats and the opposition Socialists stayed away.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/socialists-reject-jobbik-initiative-special-parlt-session/” type=”big” color=”red” newwindow=”yes”] SOCIALISTS REJECT JOBBIK INITIATIVE FOR SPECIAL PARLT SESSION[/button]

Bencsik János; Gulyás Gergely; Dúró Dóra; Kósa Lajos; Ferenczi István; Hadházy Ákos

Fidesz group leader Lajos Kósa said after the meeting that the party rejects to support an amendment, arguing that the current election law is “coherent and has stood scrutiny by such international organisations as the European Court of Human Rights and the Venice Commission”.

An amendment would be problematic from a procedural point of view since a time frame for appeals should also be considered, he told reporters. Kósa said he saw no reason for holding an extraordinary parliamentary session on the issue and added that the opposition parties failed to form a common position.

Dúró Dóra-Jobbik
Dóra Dúró (Jobbik)

Dóra Dúró, Jobbik’s deputy group leader, criticised both Fidesz and the Socialists over their stance, saying that the ruling party completely rejected their proposals while the Socialists did not even bother to show up at the talks.

She said the state should allow those Hungarians “who have been mostly forced to go abroad” to maintain contact with their home country in as many ways as possible. She added that “spirit of the current law” was against this.

Jobbik will continue with its efforts to have a parliamentary session called over the issue, she said.

Ákos Hadházy, co-chair of LMP, said the party supported an amendment to the law allowing voting by mail. At the same time, he reiterated that the quota referendum is pointless because it will not solve the problem of migration.

Photo: MTI

Referendum could protect Hungary from EU migrant quota, says state secretary

Budapest, August 8 (MTI) – If the Oct. 2 national referendum on the EU migrant quota is valid and the majority of people vote against it, then Hungary’s parliament will introduce a law to prevent the EU from forcing the country to take in unwanted migrants, the justice ministry’s state secretary said in the Monday issue of daily Magyar Idők.

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?”

Pál Volner said that the prospective law would be in force for at least three years.

The government’s position is clear on the migrant quota issue, Volner stressed, insisting that a forced redistribution of migrants would hurt Hungary’s interests.

Those who vote “yes” in the October referendum will agree to allow Brussels to “direct any foreign national to Hungary’s territory at any time,” Volner told the paper.

Those voting “no” will however agree that Hungary would take in persons only with the approval and authorisation of the Hungarian state and its authorities, in line with domestic regulations, he said.

“The government has initiated the quota referendum in the interest of Europe, and not against it, and there is no serious argument in support of Hungary leaving the European community,” Volner said.

“Hungary can only move closer to achieving its goals as a member of the European community,” he told the paper.

Photo: MTI

Socialists reject Jobbik initiative for special parlt session

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, August 5 (MTI) – The opposition Socialist Party rejects the Jobbik party’s initiative for five-party talks and a special parliamentary session later this month on amending Hungary’s election law.

The initiative only helps ruling Fidesz and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pave the way for Hungary’s exit from the European Union, the Socialists said in a statement.

Jobbik said on Thursday that the law should be amended to make it easier for Hungarians working or studying abroad to vote.

Under election rules currently in place, Hungarians who have a permanent address in the country but are abroad on the day of an election or referendum can only vote at a Hungarian embassy or consular office near them, while ethnic Hungarians living beyond the border can vote by mail.

The Socialists branded the initiative as “selfish and unconvincing”, noting that Fidesz and Jobbik had until now ignored the votes of those Hungarians previously, and only hindered them in exercising their right to vote.

The election system devised by Fidesz is “bad” and cannot be improved by amendments, the Socialists said, stressing the need to approve a brand new election law “so that Fidesz should no longer be able to make a distinction between Hungarians”.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/tag/referendum-on-migrant-quotas/” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] ALL NEWS ABOUT REFERENDUM ON MIGRANT QUOTAS[/button]

Jobbik initiates special parliament session to amend election law

Budapest, August 4 (MTI) – The Jobbik party has initiated an extraordinary session of parliament for later this month to amend Hungary’s election law with a view to making it easier for Hungarians working or studying abroad to vote.

Under the election rules currently in place, Hungarians who have a permanent address in the country but are abroad on the day of an election or referendum can only vote at a Hungarian embassy or consular office near them, while ethnic Hungarians living beyond the border can vote by mail.

Jobbik plans to hold talks with the other four parliamentary parties on a possible election law amendment next Monday, and has proposed that parliament convene for a special session to amend the law on August 18.

Jobbik MP István Szávay told MTI on Thursday that he considers the current voting rules applying to Hungarians staying abroad discriminatory and expressed hope that the opposition parties can reach a consensus with the government on changing the law.

Other opposition parties have also criticised the electoral system.

LMP

On Wednesday, green opposition LMP said the election law “differentiates between Hungarians” by not allowing all citizens living abroad to vote by mail. The party called on the government to allow all Hungarians living abroad, including those working in western Europe, to vote by mail in the October 2 migrant quota referendum.

The Liberals

The Liberals branded the election rules pertaining to postal voting as “severe discrimination”. Anett Bősz, the party’s spokeswoman, proposed that Hungary should follow Estonia’s example and introduce electronic voting to make it easier for the roughly 600,000 citizens who were born in the country but have since moved abroad to participate in elections.

Socialists

On Monday, the Socialist Party said the current electoral system “fails to apply equal voting rights” and so is incompatible with the rule of law.

Photo: MTI

LMP calls on govt to allow all Hungarians abroad to vote by mail in autumn referendum

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, August 3 (MTI) – The green opposition LMP party has called on the government to allow all Hungarians living abroad, including those working in western Europe, to vote by mail in the October 2 migrant quota referendum.

Party spokesman Péter Ungár told MTI on Wednesday that the government “differentiates between Hungarians and Hungarians” by not allowing citizens who have a registered address in Hungary but work abroad to vote by mail.

He said voting regulations for Hungarians in western Europe were “unacceptable” even for the general election in 2014 as “many of them had to travel hundreds of kilometres” to be able to exercise their voting rights at the nearest embassy or consular office.

Under Hungary’s election rules, Hungarians who have a permanent address in the country but are abroad on the day of an election or referendum can only vote at a Hungarian embassy or consular office near them while ethnic Hungarians living beyond the border can vote by mail.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/tag/immigration/” type=”big” color=”purple” newwindow=”yes”] ALL NEWS ABOUT IMMIGRATION[/button]

On the topic of the referendum itself, Ungár said the vote would not resolve the migration crisis but added that decisions on immigration should be kept as a national competency. Hungarians have a right to decide who they want to live together with in their country, he insisted. He said he would participate in the referendum and vote “no”.

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?”

Liberals propose introducing e-voting

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, August 3 (MTI) – The Liberal Party has proposed that Hungary should follow Estonia’s example and introduce electronic voting in its election system.

Anett Bősz, the party’s spokeswoman, told MTI on Wednesday that electronic voting has been an option in Estonia for ten years and that over 30 percent of voters had cast their ballots this way in the country’s 2015 election.

Electronic voting also has the backing of the European Union, she added.

[box type=”bio”] COMPLICATED VOTING PROCEDURE FOR HUNGARIANS WORKING IN THE WEST[/box]

Read more at: https://dailynewshungary.com/referendum-migrant-quotas-complicated-voting-procedure-hungarians-working-west/

Bősz argued that the introduction of e-voting in Hungary would make it easier for the roughly 600,000 citizens who were born in the country but have since moved abroad to participate in elections.

She called it “severe discrimination” that the election law allows ethnic Hungarian citizens living beyond the borders to vote by mail while obliging Hungarians who had moved abroad later to vote in person at the nearest Hungarian embassy or consular office.

She proposed that Hungarians living abroad could cast their votes online with the help of an electronic ID card that they could obtain through the immigration office.

Socialists: Allow all Hungarians abroad to vote by mail

Budapest, August 1 (MTI) – The opposition Socialists have called on the government to ensure that every Hungarian living outside the country can participate in the Oct. 2 referendum without hindrance.

István Ujhelyi, the party’s deputy leader, said the current electoral system “fails to apply equal voting rights” and so is incompatible with the rule of law. While ethnic Hungarian citizens living beyond the borders can vote by mail, hundreds of thousands of Hungarians abroad must travel to the nearest Hungarian embassy or consular office to do so, he noted.

During the general election last year, 95 percent of the voters that cast their ballots amid anomalous conditions by mail voted for the ruling party, while only a “fraction” of non-ethnic Hungarians abroad were able to participate in the election, he added.

He savaged the ruling Fidesz party’s campaign ahead of the referendum on the EU migrant quotas, accusing Fidesz of “lying and cheating” and calling on voters to boycott the vote.

In response, Fidesz deputy parliamentary group leader Gergely Gulyás reiterated Fidesz’s position that voting by mail is only allowable as a last resort. Hungarians with a permanent residence abroad have therefore a right to vote by mail while those with a permanent residence in Hungary can only cast their ballots at Hungary’s nearest diplomatic mission, he said.

Referendum on migrant quotas: complicated voting procedure for Hungarians working in the West

According to nol.hu, it will be much more complicated to “send a message to Brussels” from London or from Brussels than from Transylvania, as the same rules will be valid at the October 2 referendum on migrant quotas as the ones at the parliamentary elections. While the dual citizens living in neighbouring countries can vote via letter, the hundred thousands of Hungarians working or living abroad with Hungarian postal address can only vote at foreign representations. For those living in big cities this only means a long queue, but for those living in places without an embassy or consulate this means a lot of traveling, and by lot we mean thousands of kilometres on the continents like America or Australia.

The differentiation already caused a lot of arguments two years ago at the parliamentary elections. But the complaints were rejected by the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court. Their argument was the following: since the two groups’ voting right is different (meaning that transborder Hungarians can only vote for parties, while citizens living abroad with Hungarian postal address can also vote for individual candidates), it is acceptable that their voting options are different too.

However, this argument cannot be applied to the referendum on migrant quotas: there will be only one voting-paper and one question. István Ujhelyi, vice-president of MSZP, thinks that even though equal voting rights already got hurt at the parliamentary elections, this is beyond doubt in the case of the referendum, as you can only answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ whether or not you have a Hungarian postal address.

He asked András Patyi, the president of the National Voting Committee, what he did to ensure equal voting rights, because the current solution labels people working abroad as secondary citizens. The answer wasn’t hopeful: Patyi said that they only practice the law and have reporting obligation towards the parliament. Then he rejected that the current practice is against the constitution as, by the decision of the Constitutional Court, the state can guarantee the practice of voting rights in several ways.

This is really what the Constitutional Court’s regulation concludes and adds: the Hungarian postal address gives a base of differentiation. People working abroad could even fly home for the day of the referendum and since “constituents with permanent Hungarian postal address have a more informal and stronger relation with the state, it can be expected that they vote personally or at foreign representations.” This strange argument brings up a new question: why does the weaker relation result in the same voting right?

István Ujhelyi believes that Fidesz is not shy to campaign illegally, arouse hatred, or even go against the constitution for the sake of the referendum. “The assuring of equal voting rights should be the elemental obligation of the state. If the differentiation is kept alive and the electoral organisations don’t guarantee the right of equal and free vote, then it all strengthens MSZP’s standing-point: we shouldn’t take part in the referendum” said Ujhelyi, who previously started a petition for equal voting rights.

Nol.hu writes that the law about the voting procedure, which became operative in May 2013, first enabled the listing of citizens working abroad with Hungarian postal address into the register of people voting via letter. However, the parliament modified the law one and a half months later, which takes us to the present situation.

In October 2013, a complainant living in Ipswich, 137 kilometres away from the Hungarian Embassy in London, turned to the Constitutional Court way before the parliamentary elections, but the establishment only rejected the petition this April.

The mover referred to the constitution and that it doesn’t allow differentiation by postal address. But the Constitutional Court decided differently by 8:5 votes. According to István Stumpf, who expressed his own opinion on the subject, it is a mistake that most of the judges qualify the method of voting a subsidiary technical circumstance. “I am convinced that the law of voting procedure unreasonably limits the voting right of those being abroad on the day of the election with Hungarian postal address, that is to say it discriminates them.” The Constitutional Court also referred to the decision of the Strasbourg Court but as it was mentioned above, the argument is invalid in this case.

The voting via letter of people working abroad wouldn’t have caused technical difficulty in the time of the parliamentary elections. It tells a lot that 128 thousand dual citizens voted this way, mainly from neighbouring countries, while only 24 thousand people voted at foreign representations. In other words, hundred thousands of Hungarian studying or working abroad were kept away from voting.

Probably the same will happen at the referendum on migrant quotas.

Photo: MTI

Copy editor: bm

Fidesz opposes plans to boycott referendum

Budapest, August 1 (MTI) – The ruling Fidesz party has called on the leftist opposition to clarify its position on the October 2 quota referendum on the European Commission’s plan for “the forced settlement of migrants”, deputy parliamentary leader Gergely Gulyás said.

“Boycotting the vote is tantamount to having no position,” he told a press conference.

The left wing should make clear whether it supports or opposes the commission’s plan, Gulyás said.

Tearing government campaign posters is illegal, something a responsible politician should not encourage anyone to do, he said, referring an initiative by the opposition Egyutt party.

Gulyás accused the left wing of doing everything to thwart the referendum and pushing its pro-immigration stance.

In light of the recent acts of terrorism, denying a direct connection between terrorism and migration is an untenable position, he said.

Photo: MTI

Szijjártó: EC chief sees people as threat to democracy

Budapest (MTI) – European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker sees the people as a danger to democracy, Hungary’s foreign minister said on Saturday.

Péter Szijjártó reacted in a statement to an interview Juncker gave to Austrian daily Kurier in which the EC leader said that legal security in the European Union would be endangered if member states held referendums on ever decision made by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. Juncker also reiterated that the EU’s migrant quota scheme was based on the principle of solidarity.

Szijjártó said: “The mandatory migrant quota scheme is based on ‘the principle of stupidity’ and the Hungarian people have a right to voice their opinion on pivotal questions.”

They especially have the right to voice their opinion when “terrorist attacks and murders” committed by “migrants who are unable to integrate” into society have become everyday occurrences in Europe, the minister added.

Photo: MTI

Govt official criticises mandatory migrant quota scheme

Budapest, July 30 (MTI) – Under its proposed quota scheme Brussels aims to arrange the settlement of as many illegal migrants in Hungary as would fill a whole city, increasing by this measure the threat of terrorism and crime, the state secretary for government communications said on Saturday.

By implementing its mandatory migrant redistribution scheme and taking over the right of assessing asylum requests from national sovereign member states, Brussels would send “an invitation” to millions to come to Europe, Bence Tuzson told a press conference.

He said Hungary would be “a victim” of Brussels’ measures since “tens of thousands” of people would be “sent to settle” in the country against the will of its people.

“Brussels must be stopped,” Tuzson insisted and urged Hungarians to express their opinion at the October 2 national referendum on the quota scheme.

Tuzson said that last year 1.5 million people arrived in Europe and in the first six months of this year more than another half a million made their way to the continent.

Radical nationalist Jobbik responded by saying that not only Brussels, but the Orbán government, too, aims to arrange the settlement of people in Hungary enough to fill a whole city.

The party referred to the economy minister’s agreement with a proposal by national business association MGYOSZ earlier this month to bring in foreign workers from outside of the EU to ease labour shortages in certain sectors and demanded that the government clearly state its position on the matter.

Photo: MTI

Kósa: Migrant quota referendum ‘will strengthen democracy’

Budapest, July 29 (MTI) – Hungary’s upcoming referendum on the European Union’s migrant quota “will strengthen democracy”, ruling Fidesz group leader Lajos Kósa said in an interview published by Friday’s daily Magyar Hírlap.

The lenient migration policy promoted by European leaders could end up being responsible for wiping out an entire political class, he said.

Commenting on the October 2 referendum, he said Hungary is the only EU state where people will be given a chance to express their opinion on migration.

“Brussels leaders who consider themselves democrats find democracy and the majority’s anticipated rejection of their migration policy painful,” he said.

The Fidesz government believes the EU should change the “poor way” in which it operates. “People who believe this are the EU’s real supporters,” he added.

Commenting on recent reports about Germany, he likened the media in Germany to that of the Soviet Union in the 1970 and 80s. “The media is kept under control and crimes committed by migrants are belittled or misreported,” he insisted.

PM party to file complaint over govt’s referendum billboard campaign

Budapest, July 28 (MTI) – The opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party on Thursday said it would file a complaint for incitement against a group over the government’s billboard campaign for the referendum on migrant quotas.

For the past year and a half the government has been running a “hate campaign” against refugees with the aim of diverting attention from its corruption scandals and the state of the health-care and education systems, spokesman Bence Tordai told MTI.

Tordai said PM’s lawyers believe the billboard campaign constitutes the crime of incitement against a group because it links asylum seekers with terrorism, rape and other crimes. The government wants to instil fear into Hungarians that Europe is being flooded by millions of refugees and that many of them could be relocated to Hungary, he said.

PM is filing its complaint against an unidentified perpetrator because it is unclear how big of a role Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Antal Rogán, the prime minister’s cabinet chief or anyone else has in the campaign, he said.

He said the “incitement” against the refugees “could easily descend into violence”, insisting that if a refugee eventually becomes the victim of a hate crime in Hungary, the government would have to be held responsible for it.

Tordai said PM will organise an anti-violence demonstration at Budapest’s Kossuth Square on October 2, the day of the quota referendum and international day of non-violence.

Photo: www.kormany.hu