Schengen

Orbán’s advisor: New fence will enable reduction in staff manning southern border

According to the Prime Minister’s Chief Security Advisor, the construction of the new security fence will enable a reduction in the number of staff manning the southern border.

Speaking on Hungarian M1 television’s current affairs program, György Bakondi said that experiences showed that the second fence constructed along a ten kilometre stretch of the border was a success; that section had been avoided by both people smugglers and illegal immigrants.

The Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister explained that they had constructed a fence that was physically stronger than the existing one, could not be compromised using wire cutters and had sensors every 10-15 centimetres that send an alert to regional command centres, which can also monitor that stretch of the border day and night using security cameras.

Once the technical upgrade is complete, it will be possible to reduce the number of staff manning the border “to some extent”, and the Government hopes that forced entry will be eradicated altogether, Mr. Bakondi said.

Photo: MTI
Photo: MTI

It looks like a smart fence

MNO.hu

Photo: MTI

Hungary under attack by liberals and left-wingers in the EP?

european-parliament-eu Strasbourg

According to the Government Spokesperson, left-wing and liberal politicians attacked Hungary because of its immigration policy on Monday in the European Parliament (EP), based on complaints by international organisations financed by George Soros.

Zoltán Kovács spoke to Hungarian news agency MTI with relation to the fact that on Monday the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) had discussed Hungary’s migration policy.

The Government Spokesperson said it is absolutely obvious that “left-wing and liberal politicians who call themselves progressive” cannot accept the fact that Hungary is not prepared to allow illegal immigrants to enter the country or the territory of the European Union, and that it is punishing people who break the law by crossing the border illegally.

According to Mr. Kovács, these politicians expressed sharp criticism towards Minister of Justice László Trócsányi, who defended Hungary’s measures and stood up for strict border protection.

In the Spokesperson’s view, the EU is applying a double standard. “They want to introduce pointless and bureaucratic border control measures for EU citizens who cross the border and are making their lives difficult”, he explained. This may be regarded as a form of “harassment” he added.

“Meanwhile”, he continued, “EU policy is lenient with relation to allowing illegal immigrants into Europe”.

Mr. Kovács stressed that the Home Affairs Council was expected to decide on plans for the border control measures next week. “The Hungarian Government does not agree with the final version of the proposal”, he stated.

Mr. Kovács told the press that Hungary agrees that the borders must be strictly guarded, but cannot accept double standards.

Syrian, Iraqi migrants convicted for border crossing riots

Szeged (MTI) – A Szeged court of appeal in southern Hungary convicted seven Syrian and Iraqi men, most of them in absentia, in a final ruling on Tuesday for their role in a migrant riot at the Röszke border crossing in the autumn of 2015.

The court ruled that they were guilty of illegally crossing the border between Hungary and Serbia.

Six were sentenced to one-year imprisonment and banned from Hungary for four years.

A seventh man who was using a megaphone to speak to the crowd during the riot was sentenced to two years in prison, reducing an earlier three-year sentence, and banned from Hungary for six years. The court said that the sentence is suspended for one year because of his poor state of health.

Only the seventh man appeared at the court because the other six have already left Hungary and their lawyer said two of them currently live in western Europe.

Last November, a Syrian man was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for his role in the 2015 migrant riot at the Röszke border crossing station. In its non-final ruling, the Szeged court said that the man was guilty of terrorist activities involving illegal border crossing as well as coercion and violence, committed as a participant in the riot. The court also ruled that the perpetrator must spend a minimum of two-thirds of his term in prison and that he would be banned from the country.

Photo: MTI

Weekly government press briefing: Secondary fence to be built along Hungary-Serbia border

Budapest, February 23 (MTI) – The European Commission wants to take Hungary to court over energy price-setting, government office chief János Lázár told on Thursday. The government will launch its next round of “national consultations” in March, he said. The government has decided to build a “secondary line of defence” along Hungary’s fence on its southern border with Serbia, Lázár told.

EC to mount legal challenge against Hungary’s energy price regulation

The commission is intent on companies determining energy prices, whereas Hungary believes the state should set prices based on people’s needs, he said.

Meanwhile, Lázár said Hungary and Brussels were likely to conclude an agreement concerning infringement procedures launched against the country on regulating multinational companies and pharmacists.

Government to launch next national consultation in March

The government’s questions, sent to each household, will focus on “potential threats” such as the EU’s plan to ban Hungary’s retail utility price cuts, illegal migration, European centralisation of tax decisions, Hungary’s losing its right to introduce job protection measures, as well as the accountability of organisations financed from abroad, Lázár said.

Secondary fence to be built along Hungary-Serbia border

Lázár argued that a “significant number” of illegal migrants could arrive in Hungary in 2017.

The government will increase the budget of the interior ministry by 38 billion forints (123.5m) to facilitate the construction of the second barrier, he said.

The government is planning to set up facilities to accommodate 400 migrants along the border, Lázár said, adding that later on asylum seekers currently in open or closed camps in the country, some 600 people, would also be sent back to the new facilities.

European Union

Regarding his recent talks in Brussels, Lázár said the European Commission is preparing to take Hungary to court over energy price-setting. The commission is intent on companies determining energy prices, whereas Hungary believes the state should set prices based on people’s needs, he said. He said electricity and gas prices would likely increase by 30-40 percent if they were to be set by the market.

Meanwhile, Lázár said Hungary and Brussels were likely to conclude an agreement concerning infringement procedures launched against the country on regulating multinational companies and pharmacists.

On the topic of Hungary’s restrictions of farmland purchases, he said further talks were needed.

Talks on the Paks project, however, “appear promising”, Lázár said, but declined to elaborate on their details.

Further, Lázár said Hungary is nominating MEP Ildiko Gáll Pelcz as its delegate to the European Court of Auditors.

Lázár also criticised the EU for what he said was its support for the continued practice of companies “selling lower quality products to poor Hungarians”. Lázár named such brands as Coca-Cola, Nesquik, Rio Mare, Nutella and Knorr, as producers that distribute a poorer quality in Hungary than in Austria. The products were compared over the course of an investigation that involved retail chains Lidl, Aldi, Spar and wholesale chain Metro, he said.

Regarding the ongoing bird flu epidemic in Hungary and various parts of Europe, Lázár said the government would distribute an additional 2.7 billion forints to slaughterhouses in compensation for their losses.

Commenting on remarks central bank governor György Matolcsy made to lawmakers during a briefing of parliament’s finance committee on Wednesday, Lázár denied knowing anything about any attempt by the embassy of a NATO country to topple the government and central bank, but he insisted that Andre Goodfriend, the charge d’affaires at the time, had directly intervened in Hungarian domestic political affairs.

“It appeared that the then chief of the US embassy found it important on a daily basis to give his opinion on Hungarian domestic political events, to form a standpoint, intervene, manage and organise,” he said.

Photo: MTI

Serious accusations regarding issuance of Hungarian visas

Budapest, February 21 (MTI) – The foreign ministry on Tuesday said no abuses had been committed by Hungarian foreign offices in relation to the issuance of visas since Péter Szijjártó took over the ministry.

Tamás Menczer, the foreign ministry’s press chief, responded to allegations by opposition politicians that Hungary’s visa centre in Moscow had issued Hungarian visas to Russian citizens without proper checks.

Earlier in the day, LMP co-leader Bernadett Szél called on Szijjártó and farm minister Sándor Fazekas to testify before parliament’s foreign affairs and national security committees in connection with the allegations.

Zsolt Molnár, the Socialist head of the national security committee, has said that the case would be on the agenda of the committee’s next session. Molnár argued that “a thorough and comprehensive overview is needed” of how it was possible that “large-scale abuses” had been committed in relation to the issuance of Hungarian documents.

The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition has said that if it came into power, it would investigate Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Szijjártó’s roles in the case.

In a statement, Menczer insisted that no abuses had been committed at the visa centre in Moscow.

Visa centres never rule on the issuance of visas anywhere, and therefore “cannot commit fraud”, Menczer said. The granting of visas is ruled on solely by embassies, he explained.

Menczer said misconduct concerning the issuance of visas had only taken place before the establishment of the Moscow visa centre and before Szijjártó had been named foreign minister.

Hungarian interior minister in border control talks with Croatian counterpart

Budapest, February 20 (MTI) – Hungary’s Interior Minister Sándor Pintér met Vlaho Orepic, his Croatian counterpart, for talks on “systematic border control” in Budapest on Monday.

At a press conference after the talks, Orepic said that under a new “systematic” method for controlling the border every entrant would be checked, which could lead to queues forming at crossing points. Parties at the talks agreed to take measures to prevent such inconveniences, he added.

Orepic thanked Pintér for Hungary’s support of Croatia’s accession to the passport-free Schengen Area.

Pinter said that the European Union has mandated the new border control regime, and Hungary and Croatia would work to use it as a means to increase security without putting an extra burden on residents of the two countries. He added that border crossers would be checked regardless of whether they are entering or leaving the country.

Under the new border regime, personal details of travellers entering or leaving the EU would be checked against the Schengen Information System and other databases to determine if their documents had been declared lost or stolen. Under an agreement reached last December by the Council of Ministers, member states will also have to determine whether the traveller in question poses a threat to their country.

Pintér told MTI the new regime would have to be implemented within 20 days of the relevant EU regulation’s official publication. Asked if the implementation of the regime meant that Hungary would have to send more officers to patrol its border, the minister said that if officials in charge of implementing the regime find it necessary, the government would have to explore the costs of deploying more officers.

Responding to another journalist’s question, Pintér said there were no plans to install transit zones near Hungary’s border with Croatia.

But he said the government does plan to expand the number of transit zones along the border with Serbia to house migrants who submit asylum applications.

Photo: MTI

Ten temporary crossings open on Hungarian-Romanian border

Budapest, Februry 18 (MTI) – Ten temporary border stations opened along the common border of Hungary and Romania this weekend.

All facilities will operate for eight hours on one of the weekend days.

The border stations between Omboly and Horea (Károlypuszta), Zajta and Peles (Nagypeleske), Garbolc and Bercu (Szárazberek), Dombegyház and Variasu Mic (Kisvarjaspuszta), Elek and Graniceri (Ottlaka), Körösnagyharsany and Cheresig (Körösszeg), Denesmajor and Iarmata Neagra (Feketegyarmat), Pocsaj and Rosiori (Biharfelegyhaza), and Bagamer and Voivozi (Erkenez) will be open on Saturdays.

The border crossing point between Csanádpalota and Nadlac (Nagylak) will operate on Sundays.

The roads connecting the localities concerned were in part constructed from EU funds.

Ninety per cent of asylum-seekers submitting applications this year have left for unknown destinations

Ninety per cent of asylum-seekers who have submitted asylum applications in Hungary since the beginning of the year have not waited for the closure of their procedures and have left for unknown destinations, the Prime Minister’s chief advisor for internal security said on the Friday evening programme of the public service television news channel M1.

György Bakondi, who was interviewed in the context of the fact that the proposal package regarding the reinforcement of the legal border closure is already before Parliament, said: at present, asylum requests may be submitted in the camps situated in the territory of the country. However, many of the applicants do not wait for the authority’s decision, leave for an unknown destination, and „it is not difficult to guess that it may be Austria or Germany”. It is no coincidence that Austria introduces controls at its borders „fairly frequently” which makes the situation of the Hungarian economy and tourism more difficult, he added.

According to the chief advisor for internal security, it is a mistake if rather than concentrating on the protection of the external borders, the European Union allows the reinstatement of internal border controls. In his view, they would like to correct this mistake by ensuring that those who enter the territory of Hungary and are granted asylum or the status of protected person should be genuine, thoroughly vetted political refugees with verified identities and carefully scrutinised intentions.

In response to the factual statement that some fifty thousand persons have left the country in the past three years after having submitted asylum requests, but without waiting for the outcome of the procedure, Mr Bakondi said: „far more, more than double that number”. Based on this year’s data, „ninety per cent of those who submitted applications have left for unknown destinations”, he added.

It was by taking advantage of this loophole that people gained access to the territory of the EU who then exposed European internal security to grave dangers, Mr Bakondi said.

Amnesty International: Hungary’s proposed new border control rules unlawful

Budapest, February 17 (MTI) – The government’s package of amendments aimed at stricter regulations of border control is in conflict with both domestic and international legislation, Amnesty International (AI) Hungary said on Friday.

The government’s starting position is wrong because there is no migration crisis in Hungary with only around 400 asylum seekers currently staying in the country, the organisation said. Those people could be accommodated at the current migrant reception facilities, AI said, and insisted it is not true that stricter measures are needed for the protection of the Schengen border.

Under the package of amendments submitted on Tuesday, all illegal entrants would be escorted back to the other side of the border. This means that people fleeing from wars and persecution would be collectively removed from Hungary’s territory, without a legal procedure, which stands against the constitution, AI said.

In line with the amendment, as long as the government maintains the state of mass migration crisis, asylum-seekers will be held in detention while their request is being assessed. According to AI Hungary, it is unlawful to keep people in detention without a court ruling and without access to legal remedy.

The proposed amendment also disregards an EU principle which prohibits detention purely on the basis of an asylum request. It could result in old and sick people or families with small children getting locked up, the statement said.

AI Hungary said it is especially problematic that under the proposal unaccompanied minors would be removed from the scope of child protection regulations. As a result, they would suffer serious discrimination due to their migrant status and age, which would violate the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and also Hungary’s constitution.

Photo: MTI

National security committee focuses on terror threat, security of Schengen visa system

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, February 14 (MTI) – Terror threat and the security of the Schengen visa system stood in the focus of discussion in the Tuesday session of parliament’s national security committee.

The terrorist organisation ISIS seems to be losing control over all its territories, which might trigger a wave of thousands of jihadists returning to Europe, Socialist committee chair Zsolt Molnár said after the closed session. The whole Schengen area, including Hungary, should prepare for the challenge, he added.

Molnár stressed the need to establish a joint European secret service to fight against terrorism and organised crime, and strengthen security in the Schengen area.

One telling episode is “the case of Szilárd Kiss and the Moscow visa scandal”, he added, referring to Hungary’s one-time agricultural attache to Russia, convicted of fraudulent practices in issuing visas to the Schengen zone. Molnár insisted that Kiss had been allowed to continue his activities after “failing twice” in national security checks. He said that national security control over Hungary’s foreign representations should be increased, but added that national security risks around the Schengen visas issued at the Hungarian embassy in Moscow have not been identified.

Szilárd Németh, Fidesz-delegated deputy chair of the committee, said that the secret services had indicated a novel challenge of “foreign influencing”. By that he referred to international organisations “mostly financed by a Hungarian billionaire” and whose members “act as covert agents” in Hungary.

Opposition Jobbik’s Ádám Mirkóczki said the Kiss scandal indicated “holes” in the national security system, which involved “tremendous security risks” and suggested the existence of a “corruption machinery”.

Orbán’s Security Advisor: Establishment of border defence base is a huge step forward

György Bakondi, Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, has told Hungarian television channel M1 that the establishment of a border defence base has been a huge step forward for personnel stationed there.

Mr Bakondi pointed out that since 2015 there has been continuous migration pressure on the border, and solutions are being sought as to how high levels of security personnel could be reduced by strengthening technological support. He underlined that the police and the Hungarian Defence Forces must guarantee defence of the EU’s external borders.

He further said that the existing fence, which was erected in 2015, has been strengthened with electronic hardware, and a parallel access road has also been completed, which can be easily used by vehicles in all conditions. Mr Bakondi added that on a trial section a second fence system has also been set up, which is stronger than the existing one.

The Hungarian Defence Forces’ Kelebia border defence base has been completed, and the establishment of further bases at Bácsalmás, Madaras and Hercegszántó are expected to be completed in the spring.

 

The construction of the four bases, which will each be able to accommodate 150 people, began last autumn in Kelebia, Bácsalmás, Madaras and Hercegszántó. If necessary, portable cabins can be added at an upper level, so their combined capacity of six hundred can be doubled at any time.

Photo: Károly Árvai / Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister

Border protection base of Hungarian Defence Forces completed on the Serbian-Hungarian border

Speaking at a press conference held in Kelebia, Bács-Kiskun County, Chief of Defence Gen. Dr Tibor Benkő announced that the Kelebia border protection base of the Hungarian Defence Forces has been completed, and the installations at Bácsalmás, Madaras and Hercegszántó are expected to be finished by the spring. These facilities will provide modern field accommodation for altogether 600 men.

The Chief of Defence told the press that the soldiers are going to be on duty along the border until the end of the migration pressure on Hungary. He added that he hopes that their strength can be reduced by building the second line of fence, which would enable allocating more time for purposes of their training and preparation.

He pointed out that increasing attention is being focused on the Serbian-Hungarian border section where the soldiers have constructed some 170-km-long barrier system. The same border protection system has been constructed along the Croatian-Hungarian border with a length of approx. 136 kilometres.

The now completed Kelebia border protection base provides adequate accommodation for the soldiers, one which meets the requirements of the age. The construction of the four installations, suitable for providing rest and accommodation for 150 men each, started last autumn in Kelebia, Bácsalmás, Madaras and Hercegszántó. According to plans, the bases at the latter three places will be completed by this spring, and, if necessary, an extra floor can be built on top of the containers, so the total holding capacity of 600 can be doubled any time.

The soldiers are accommodated in four-person containerized housing units equipped with electric heating and air conditioning. In addition, there is a dining facility on the base, and a separate block for providing medical service. There is also a room for morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) activities, which is equipped with table tennis and snooker tables and a darts board, as well as a laundry with washing machine and tumble-dryer, WiFi internet and a mobile store.

Photo: MTI

Consisting of around 90 containers, the base provides accommodation and meal for soldiers up to company strength, and includes the necessary office and warehouse functions as well. With the establishment of the camp in Kelebia, the soldiers are now much closer to their duty station, as previously they had to travel 20 kilometres or so to reach it from their place of accommodation at Mélykút.

Gen. Tibor Benkő emphasised that over the last one and a half years, more than 15,000 soldiers have already been assigned border protection duties. Furthermore, in 2016, Hungarian troops have participated in more than 40 domestic and international exercises, and carried out tasks in foreign missions in 12 different places on three continents.

He also noted that the conditions for the military career path model had been created by 1 January 2017. This model supports the characteristics of military service and rests on three pillars, namely a system ensuring adequate promotion and salary, the health promotion programs and housing benefit for the soldiers.

“We expect all soldiers to learn and develop themselves, to gain higher qualifications and language proficiency”, the general stated, adding that the salaries are proportional to these requirements.

He announced that a 30 per cent pay rise was made in the summer of 2015, a further five per cent one in 2016 and yet another five per cent one on 1 January 2017.

He underlined that the Hungarian Defence Forces provide housing benefit for soldiers who have to change their duty station and that thanks to the system of health promotion programs, it is possible to take care of those who suffered health damage.

Finally, he said that the motor pool of 90 all-terrain vehicles that entered service in 2016 would be expanded with another 100 ones this year. These vehicles will primarily help the work of border protection patrols.

Photo: Károly Árvai / Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister

Hungarian strategic cabinet prepared amendments for restoring migrant detention rules

Makó (MTI) – The government’s strategic cabinet has prepared four legal amendments needed for restoring migrant detention rules and will submit them to parliament in the near future, government office chief János Lázár said on Tuesday.

Migrants staying in Hungary pose security risks and the government has decided to restrict their free movement, Lázár told a public forum attended by some 200 people in Makó in southern Hungary.

In the future, migrants who apply for asylum will have to wait at the border while their request is being assessed, Lázár said. Currently, they are staying in open camps. These seven to eight hundred persons currently in Hungary will be transported back to the border in several steps, Lázár added.

In response to a question, Lázár said that closing the Romanian-Hungarian border is currently not on the agenda but preparations have been made and plans are available for building a second fence on the Hungarian-Serbian border.

Photo: MTI

Hungary sends new contingents of police to Serbia and Macedonia

Hungary is sending new contingents of police to Serbia and Macedonia. Speaking of the 15 and 25-person units at the National Standby Police’s facility on Monday, Chief Police Commissioner Zsolt Halmosi said: “We can expect a significant increase in migration as a result of the easing weather”.

“This is the tenth time that Hungary is sending police units to Macedonia, and the fourth time to Serbia; 385 Hungarian police officers have served along the Balkan migration route to date”, the Major-General said.

Maj-Gen Halmosi thanked the police officers for undertaking the task and volunteering to help the fight against illegal immigration.

“Migration pressure may have fallen somewhat, but it has not ceased”, he said, adding that “Over the weekend, 239 illegal migrants were turned away at the Serbian-Hungarian border, 33 illegal border crossers were apprehended and 58 illegal immigrants were stopped on Hungarian territory within the 8-kilometre border zone”.

“We are protecting the Serbian-Hungarian border, but we must make a daily effort to ensure that this remains the case, and for this reason, there are thousands of police and military personnel on duty at the border, often in harsh conditions”, he said.

Both contingents will be contributing to border protection with police vehicles, night vision equipment, and heat cameras.

Hungarian police serving within the territory of Serbia and Macedonia will be performing their duties using their own equipment and will act under the orders and supervision of the local police.

The main task of the Hungarian police will be patrolling in the interests of preventing and discovering attempts to illegally cross the border, in addition to which they will be assisting in the detaining of people smugglers and illegal immigrants. The police officers will be on duty not only in the direct vicinity of the border but also within the territory of the country along roads and highways.

Photo: Károly Árvai/kormany.hu

Nothing justifies a fence along the Hungarian-Romanian border

“There is nothing to justify the reinforcement of Hungarian-Romanian border protection, and accordingly there will be no fence there”, György Bakondi said on Hungarian M1 television’s Saturday evening current affairs program.

The Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister said cooperation between the Hungarian and Romanian border security authorities was particularly good, highlighting the regular exchange of information.

“We can see that the Romanian border guard is deploying major manpower to assure the performance of its duties “, he stressed, adding: “There is nothing to justify the introduction of a stronger border security regime along the Romanian border”.

“This also means that we will not have to rethink the distribution of border security professionals”, he stated.

Hungary’s immigration office receives nearly 30,000 asylum applications in 2016

Budapest, February 3 (MTI) – Last year nearly 30,000 foreign nationals submitted applications for asylum to Hungary’s immigration authority, the head of the organisation told a press conference on Friday.

Zsuzsanna Végh said that the number was well below 177,000 such applications in 2015, but warned that “we should not entertain the illusion that the problems are solved”.

In 2016, 29,432 people were registered as asylum applicants and 18,236 as illegal migrants, Végh said. She noted that a year earlier, when the migration crisis broke out, the number of illegal entrants in Hungary had reached 400,000.

Concerning the whole of the European Union, Végh said that the number of illegal entrants had gone down from 1.8 million in 2015 to 500,000 in 2016. The number of asylum applications has not dropped because member states registered 2015 arrivals last year. In Germany, for example, 745,000 applications were submitted in 2016, two thirds of which by people who had arrived in 2015 or earlier, she argued.

As to the ethnicity of asylum seekers in Hungary, Végh said that a large part of them (11,052) were Afghans, followed by Syrians (4,979), Pakistanis (3,873), Iraqis (3,452) and Iranians (1,286).

Végh insisted that a large part of the asylum-seekers submit applications in disregard of the regulations and leave the country before their case is evaluated.

Last year, the immigration authority rejected 4,675 applications, and granted asylum to 432 applicants. Fully 4,580 foreign nationals were expelled from the country and 3,694 others were detained. She added that 8,771 entrants, mostly families, children without parents, or elderly people had been provided accommodation at reception centres. Hungary had spent a total 6.7 billion forints (EUR 21.5m) on refugee services in 2016, up from 5.4 billion forints the previous year, Végh said.

Hungary’s justice minister: EU’s external border must be strengthened

Daily News Hungary

Valletta (MTI) – Unless the external borders of the European Union are strengthened, the flood of migrants could lead to walls going up between EU member states, Hungary’s justice minister, László Trócsányi, said in an interview to the Sunday issue of The Times of Malta.

“In 2015 Europe was perhaps naive but it is now confronting reality … We believe in the border-free Schengen zone, but for this to work properly the EU’s external borders must be strengthened,” he said.

In the interview given on the sidelines of a meeting of EU justice and interior ministers, he said the fence on Hungary’s southern border not only protected the country but the rest of Europe too.

“We are committed to protecting the external borders … If we don’t deal with security appropriately we will see that walls will emerge between members of the EU,” he said.

Addressing criticism of Hungary’s fence, Trocsanyi noted that Spain maintained walls round its enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in north Africa.

Referring to Hungary’s role in the dismantling of the Iron Curtain, he said Hungarian valued freedom that ensued after the Communism disintegrated. “The freedom of movement within the EU … is important for us. This is one of the most important added values of being a member of the EU.” But this freedom could only be maintained by ensuring the external borders are protected, he added.

Hungary agrees with the Maltese EU presidency that reception centres should be maintained in Egypt, Algeria, Libya and other countries for migrants who make an asylum claim, the paper noted.

Asked about whether Hungary worries that the majority of migrants are Muslim, the minister noted that the countries of central and eastern Europe have no colonial experience. “Unlike other EU member states, we don’t have any experience of integrating citizens from beyond the borders of the EU. We believe in preserving Europe’s Christian roots; but this does not mean that we believe that those refugees who deserve protection should not get it.”

Trocsanyi, stating that he quoted Angela Merkel, said that multiculturalism in Europe had not been a success. He argued that arrivals in the 1960s and 1970s had integrated well, but the present wave of arrivals are more interested in preserving values and norms that are at odds with European ones.

The minister insisted that the political mainstream cannot sweep integration problems under the carpet. “If the political mainstream does not want to speak about it then it will create space for the extreme right wing to fill,” he said.

Migration pressure steady on EU, says Orbán’s security advisor

Budapest (MTI) – Migration pressure has remained steady in the European Union despite preventive efforts by member states, and has intensified at Hungary’s southern border in the past two days, the prime minister’s security advisor said on Sunday.

The flow of illegal migrants has been massive, steady and organised, and in several instances violent, György Bakondi said in Budapest, adding that further masses of migrants could be expected to depart from Asia and Africa.

He critised the EU for not enforcing its own Schengen rules and protecting its borders.

Over the past year and a half, more and more powers have been ceded to Brussels, which in turn has initiated measures against member states that have their own asssement of the migrant crisis, he said.

He noted that Hungary’s position on setting up hot spots for migrant inspections outside the EU’s borders had just recently been backed by the German interior minister.

Photo: MTI

He underlined the importance of repatriation of migrants. There should be uniform deportation rules for people who reside in Europe illegally, Bakondi said, adding that the issue of binding quotas should be swept off the table.

Bakondi further noted that individual member states had started to put protective measures in place, including strengthening their police forces and secret services.

Describing the migrant situation in Hungary, Bakondi said that 2,693 people attempted to illegally cross to the country since Jan. 1 this year, 1,399 of whom had been stopped and the rest taken to transit zones.

There are currently 804 migrants staying in refugee centres in Hungary, Bakondi said.

Photo: MTI

Photo: MTI