Schengen

Foreign minister: Hungary protecting EU borders with own funds

“Contrary to the statements made by the Italian Prime Minister, the Hungarian Government did not construct a fence on the border out of EU money; the people of Hungary are protecting the border of the European Union out of their own money”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told Hungarian news agency MTI.

The Minister issued a statement in reaction to comments by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Tuesday, according to which “we cannot accept fences being constructed out of the money we pay to the European Union”. The Italian Head of Government declared: “If some of the European Union’s member states build walls and only show solidarity when they receive money, then we are prepared to veto to EU budget”. The real Europe is not made up of “egoism and walls”, he added.

In reaction, Mr. Szijjártó stated: “The Italian Prime Minster is clearly afraid”, because it is obvious that people all over the world have had enough of pro-immigration politics. Matteo Renzi “is trying to hide his fear with aggressive statements and is trying to look strong by attacking Viktor Orbán”, he said.

We are watching the Italian Prime Minister’s “factually flawed statements” with a clear head and great patience, the Foreign Minister noted.

The Hungarian Government did not construct a fence on the border out of EU monies “and especially not with Italian money”; we financed the fence from the budget, or “to make it more understandable for Matteo Renzi”, the people of Hungary are spending their own money on protecting the EU border, Mr. Szijjártó stressed.

Egoism isn’t protecting ourselves from the wave of uncontrolled migration, but “when a leader continues to stick to his opinion even when the facts clearly indicate that he is wrong”, Mr. Szijjártó said.

Photo: MTI

The Daily Telegraph publishes interview with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán

The conservative British daily newspaper The Daily Telegraph has published an interview with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Peter Foster, the newspaper’s Europe Editor, interviewed the Hungarian prime minister during his recent visit to London. The interview was published in the online edition of the newspaper on Saturday morning.

In answer to a question concerning the outcome of the US presidential election, Mr. Orbán said that the victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump means that reality has broken through ideology.

Mr. Orbán told the British newspaper that “on a philosophical-ideological level our feeling is that we are living in a ‘liberal non-democracy’ system in the Western world, and it’s over. That ideology which created its own language of political correctness – created a grey, uniform approach to all the questions – now it is over”.

The journalist repeated an earlier statement by Mr. Orbán, in which he had said that the election of Mr. Trump would be good for Hungary and good for Europe. When asked whether he still holds this opinion, the Prime Minister said that he feels this more strongly than ever.

He added that Mr. Trump takes a very clear stand against illegal immigration.

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“If well-settled states don’t make clear where the limits are and what kind of practices are acceptable, and which are not, that could destabilise the Western world, and we don’t need that”, the Prime Minister said, adding that he thinks that in this respect Donald Trump is better for Hungary and better for Europe.

Responding to the observation that EU leaders have accused him of not subscribing to the values of the European Union, Mr. Orbán replied that the question is how one defines European values.

“If you define European values as an alliance of sovereign states, then we are very much strengthening the values of the European Union, because law and order is a European value – law and order belonging to sovereign states – and this is the precondition of fulfilling international requirements and duties – like Schengen”, he said.

“So we are the good Europeans, and we defend Europe, not just at the levels of values, but at the levels of reality when we defend Schengen borders, as it is written in the Schengen treaty”, Mr. Orbán stated.

He added, however, that it is also true that Hungary is not satisfied with what is happening in Brussels.

The Prime Minister said that “in that sense my government is a kind of opposition in Brussels, but it is a reforming opposition, not a destroying opposition”.

 

He pointed out that seventy per cent of Hungarians favour remaining in the EU – meaning that Hungary is one of the most pro-European of EU nations.

When asked whether he would approve of Mr. Trump seeking to consolidate relations with Russia, as he promised in his campaign, and whether he would welcome the lifting of sanctions on Russia, Mr. Orbán said that Hungary has never supported the sanctions policy.

“We have always clearly said that we disagree on the content of that policy. But unity [of the EU] is more important, therefore we accepted [that policy]”, he added.

Mr. Orbán said that the unpredictable, disintegrating Russia during the Yeltsin era was more dangerous than the present Russia under Vladimir Putin.

The Prime Minister stated that westerners expect Russia to build its political system on the same political culture as that in the West. The Hungarian approach, however, is that we have to take Russia as it is, “not as it is in our dreams”, he said.

Regarding the end of the UK’s EU membership, the Prime Minister said that the British are strategic partners on many issues in the EU, and so the EU is weaker now than it was.

Hungary is saddened by this, “but at the same time I think there is obviously a life outside the European Union, and if a sovereign nation is so brave as to make that decision, then we wish them good luck”, the Hungarian prime minister said.

Photo: MTI

No shift in EU migration policy poses risk, says Orbán’s advisor

 

Budapest, November 14 (MTI) – The Hungarian government’s considers it a source of serious risk that there has not been any tangible shift in the EU’s migration policy, the prime minister’s chief security advisor said on Monday.

Despite Hungary’s efforts towards triggering a change in approach, the EU continues its mistaken policy of “inviting and distributing” migrants, an attitude which has already had serious consequences in many member states, Gyorgy Bakondi told a press conference.

Hungary’s migration policy is focusing on protecting and reinforcing the borders and providing for the security of the country and its citizens, he said.

This considered, Hungary is preparing for “tough disputes” at the meeting of EU prime ministers in December during which a decision is expected to be taken about the EU’s migration policy, he said.

Citing domestic statistics, Bakondi noted that Hungary received 177,135 asylum applications in 2015 and granted refugee status to 508 people.

So far this year 28,407 people have sought asylum in Hungary and 396 have been granted refugee status, he said.

Photo: Balázs Béli

Hungarian government: Residency bonds could be scrapped before year’s end

Hungary parliament

Budapest (MTI) – The government could scrap the residency bond scheme before the year is out, government office chief János Lázár said in response to a question at his weekly press briefing on Thursday.

Asked whether the government would resubmit the constitutional amendment bill stating that foreign nationals cannot be resettled in Hungary to parliament once the residency bonds are scrapped, Lázár replied: “This isn’t kindergarten”. Lázár added that Brussels was likely to come to a decision on the redistribution of migrants across the European Union sometime in December, but this “doesn’t seem like it will go our way”.

 

Commenting on opposition Jobbik’s precondition that it would only support the amendment bill if the government scraps the residency bond scheme, Lázár repeated the government’s position that the two matters should not be lumped together. He added that the government was exercising strict oversight of the residency permits handed out in return for the purchase of residency bonds.

Answering a question about the case of Ghaith Pharaon, a Saudi businessman wanted by the FBI for supporting terrorism and assisting illegal immigration, Lázár said he had been present at Monday’s meeting of parliament’s national security committee, where he was briefed on the case by intelligence and counter-terrorism officials.

It was revealed at the meeting that Pharaon had applied for a Hungarian Schengen visa on two occasions in October of 2014, Lázár said. However the birthdate the applicant had provided on the visa application documents was different from the birthdate in the US fugitive file on Pharaon. To clear up the situation, Hungary’s Constitutional Protection Office requested finger print samples from US authorities, Lázár said. The US provided the samples but they proved inconclusive. Hungary requested new samples but the US has not yet sent any, Lázár said.

He said Hungary had asked US authorities to add the birthdate on the visa applications to the file they had on Pharaon, but they had yet to do so.

Lázár said it was clarified at the national security meeting that Pharaon had entered Hungary legally and that Hungarian authorities — the immigration office and the counter terrorism centre — had handled Pharaon’s entry lawfully.

This does not rule out the possibility that the Ghaith Pharaon who entered Hungary is not the one wanted by the US but it does not confirm it, either, Lázár said.

He said it was possible that like Schengen member states, US authorities had also seen Pharaon’s visa application. He noted that Germany had told Hungary that giving Pharaon a Schengen visa did not pose a risk to its national interests.

Hungarian, Austrian defence ministers see Austrian military unit off to Hungary-Serbia border

Nickelsdorf, Austria, November 3 (MTI) – Hungarian Defence Minister István Simicskó and Hans Peter Doskozil, his Austrian counterpart, addressed the departure ceremony of an Austrian military contingent for Hungary in the border village of Nickelsdorf (Miklósfalva) on Thursday.

The unit will join the 20 Austrian police officers who currently help Hungary in patrolling its border with Serbia. Their mission will last for six months.

Addressing the farewell ceremony, Simicskó stressed the importance of joint efforts in tackling illegal mass migration faced by European countries over the past one and a half years.

Miklóshalma, 2016. november 3. Simicskó István honvédelmi miniszter (b) kezet fog Hans Peter Doskozil osztrák védelmi miniszterrel a magyar-szerb határ mentén szolgálatot teljesítõ osztrák katonai kontingens elindításán Miklóshalmán (Nickelsdorf) 2016. november 3-án. Ausztria mûszaki századot küld a magyar-szerb határhoz, amely a határvédelmi feladatokat segíti majd; a bevetés hat hónapig tart. Jelenleg húsz osztrák rendõr támogatja a magyarországi határvédelmet. MTI Fotó: Filep István
Photo: MTI

“We must prepare for protecting the EU’s external borders in what is expected to be a long-term mission,” he added.

Doskozil urged European level efforts to protect the bloc’s external borders and conclude agreements on sending migrants back to their countries of origin.

The Austrian minister also called for negotiations about the redistribution of migrants within Europe and about asylum procedures.

Orosz Zoltán; Simicskó István

Photo: MTI

Hungarian government: No reduction in migration pressure expected

“We see no reason that would result in a reduction in migration pressure in the near future”, György Bakondi Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister said at a press conference in Budapest.

“According to the decision made by the European Union’s border protection agency Frontex in mid-October in Warsaw, which Hungary did not vote in favour of, only five hundred of the 1500-strong EU border and coast guard will actually be performing border protection duties”, Mr. Bakondi noted.

This shows that the priority “is not protection, but the registration and interviewing of people who arrive, and participation in their redirection if a decision is made”, just as the planned number of ships will also only be capable of rescuing people who arrive by sea”, he added.

The Hungarian Government’s standpoint continues to be that the external borders of the European Union must be protected, EU regulations must be enforced and “we must put a stop to the state of affairs that has led to millions of people of unknown identity having crossed the border and entered the territory of the European Union without any kind of control”, he explained.

“The internal security of the EU and its member states cannot be achieved without suitably rigid border controls”, he stressed.

“Hungary has a vested interest in returning to the Schengen system, bot following the last session of the Council of the European Union it is clear that this will not occur by the 15 November deadline”, he stated.

Photo: MTI
Photo: MTI

Mr. Bakondi highlighted the fact that there are important conceptual differences between Brussels, Greece and Italy, and the other Member States, because both Athens and Roma have an interest in the earliest possible redistribution of the illegal immigrants who arrive in their countries, while in Brussels “the emphasis continues to be on the quotas”.

“Accordingly, there are concurrent debates within the European Union on the goals, the means to be applied and on principles, such as whether what Hungary is doing along its stretch of the Schengen border at an estimated cost of 150 billion forints (EUR 490M) so far can be regarded as solidarity”, he said.

“Every nation state of the European Union has begun to protect itself from illegal migration and its related negative effects”, Mr. Bakondi added, noting that eight countries have re-established internal border controls and some have reinforced their secret services, police forces and armies.

With relation to the document in preparation by the current holder of the EU Presidency, Mr. Bakondi pointed out that the proposal of the Slovakian Presidency, on what other solution may be found instead of the quota system that serves the security of the people of Europe, is being awaited with great expectations.

Photo: MTI

Czech, Polish border police leave Hungary – VIDEO

 

Budapest, October 28 (MTI) – A farewell ceremony was held in Szeged, in southern Hungary, on Friday in honour of 25 Czech and Polish police officers and border guards, who have finished their service at the Hungary-Serbia border.

The Czech contingent arrived on September 5, while the Polish officers have been patrolling Hungary’s southern border in cooperation with their local counterparts since September 17, police.hu reported.

The two contingents were seen off by Janos Balogh, deputy police chief of Hungary.

Orbán: Constitutional amendment ‘national cause’

Budapest, October 28 (MTI) – The issue of amending the constitution in light of the Oct. 2 referendum on EU migrant quotas is a national one and has nothing to do with party politics or economic matters, the prime minister said in a radio interview on Friday.

Viktor Orbán told public radio that more than 3 million Hungarians had given their opinion rejecting migrant quotas and that this outcome formed the basis for amending the constitution. “This is not connected with any other matter,” he insisted.

The Jobbik party insists that the government will only have its support to change the constitution if the residency bond scheme is scrapped. A two-thirds majority is needed to change the constitution.

Orbán said the ruling parties could not accept Jobbik’s demand.

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“You have to take into account that you cannot boss 3.3 million people around,” he said.

He vowed to submit the amendment bill to parliament “and it is up to everyone’s conscience what decision they make.”

Orban confirmed that work is ongoing to reassess the country’s financial conditions and it was possible that after a review of how the country should be financed, the economy minister, in light of the results, would submit a bill to parliament that includes the fate of the residency bonds. Economy Minister Mihály Varga will submit his proposal to the government by the end of this year, he added.

He said in 2012 Hungary had had no direct access to the markets and “parties standing against us” managed to make it increasingly difficult for the government to access financial resources. This is why the residency bond scheme was devised and “it was a very successful solution”, he added.

Commenting on last week’s European Union summit, he said a stalemate had emerged because the quota proposal was still on the table. “We are constantly vetoeing it.” In order to resolve this situation, the Slovak EU presidency must be ready with a proposal by December, Orbán said.

A good scenario will develop if the mandatory quotas are removed, but if the stalemate remains and the big states continue “wanting to shove down our throats the mandatory quotas”, then Hungary will resist; it will refuse to carry out the decision and take the European Commission to court. “There will be a big battle. And we need the constitution for that,” he added.

Orbán said that he always addresses the debates on migrant affairs in Brussels because “after all … I have launched a new politics that deviates from commonly agreed norms…”

 

On the topic of recent critical remarks by Matteo Renzi, Italy’s prime minister, Orbán said Italian politics is a difficult territory and Italy has budgetary problems too. He said a huge number of migrants were burdening the country and so Renzi had “good reason to be uptight”. But at the same time, he said Italy was duty bound to stick to the terms of the Schengen agreement but it was failing to do so. “Though this is hard, it is not impossible,” he added.

Europe is not giving Italy the appropriate help either, Orbán said.

Orbán said the EU’s Frontex border agency was not a border guard that set out to stop migration but an organisation that helped to speed up lawful entry into the EU.

This goes to show that there is no agreement between European countries in their policy goals, the prime minister said. Hungary, in light of its referendum on EU migrant quotas, believes that illegal entry of migrants must be stopped, while Brussels and leaders of other EU member states, including Italy, “want to manage, regulate and make the migration process acceptable.”

Asked about reports concerning the extension of EU internal border controls, Orbán said this would be bad for Hungary. Hungary’s interest lies in open internal borders, and Italy and Greece protecting the external border, he added. One factor with internal border controls is that commuting between Austria and Hungary mean there are “unnecessary obstacles . due to the Austrians”.

Orbán noted that Hungary had so far spent more than 150 billion forints (EUR 490m) on border protection. “We will no longer tolerate the assertion that Hungary is not a country of solidarity,” he said.

Photo: MTI

New mine clearing project to be launched on Hungarian side of border with Croatia

Budapest, October 27 (MTI) – A new mine clearing operation will be launched as part of a Hungarian-Croatian mine clearing project along the common border’s Hungarian side with EU funding, a local senior police officer of Baranya county said on Thursday.

The project is to follow up a joint mine clearing operation conducted along a 80km stretch to a depth of 50m between the Drava and the Danube rivers between 2011 and 2013, Ádám Kalmár told MTI.

In that operation 31 explosive devices were removed on the Hungarian side among those laid along the border area during the Yugoslav war in the first half of the 1990s.

The current project on the Hungarian side aims to detect and clear any abandoned explosive and other devices in an about 3.4sqm area of the villages of Old, Kölked and Udvar, Kalmár, department head of Baranya police said.

He said that bids have been invited for carrying out the project on the Hungarian side under public procurement by the spring of 2018.

The European Union has provided 3.5 million forints for the current Hungarian-Croatian mine clearing project, 35.5 percent of which is available for operations on the Hungarian side, said Kalmar.

Hungarian foreign minister: Italy must fulfil its Schengen obligations

Budapest, October 26 (MTI) – Italy’s prime minister attacks central European countries that stick to common EU rules while failing to fulfil its obligations derived from belonging to the Schengen zone, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, told MTI on Wednesday.

“If Italy kept to the rules, then there’d be less migration pressure on the European Union,” the minister said, reacting to comments made by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who told public broadcaster Rai1 on Tuesday that Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia gave moral lectures but then failed to help. Renzi also threatened to veto the EU budget if central European states refused to do their bit in the migrant resettlement scheme.

Szijjártó accused Renzi of “completely failing to understand the situation”, saying that rules guarantee that EU funds go to central European countries. He added that the accession of these countries into the EU opened up markets to western Europe, including to Italian businesses, from which they are making “serious profits”.

Hungary to equip military police with electroshock weapons

army-hungary

Budapest, October 12 (MTI) – The government plans to equip military police with electroshock weapons as part of legal amendments affecting the army, the daily Magyar Nemzet said on Wednesday.

The draft proposal on the Hungarian armed forces and special measures to be introduced were recently posted on the government website and are scheduled to be debated in parliament this autumn.

The amendments are needed to improve the efficacy of tasks connected with migration, terrorism and international military undertakings, the justification of the text showed.

The military police centre, whose staff are planned to be equipped with electroshock weapons in addition to firearms, is involved in protecting Hungary’s southern borders, the paper said.

Photo: MTI

EPP group leader: Protecting EU borders priority

EU flag

Budapest, October 10 (MTI) – Each member state of the European Union must somehow contribute to handling the burden represented by migrants but protecting the external borders is a priority task, Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament, said in an interview published by daily Magyar Hírlap on Monday.

Weber, a member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, called for resolute action against illegal migrants who abuse the refugee services system.

He said the European Commission has proposed a number of legal rules in order to strengthen the sphere of authority of Frontex, the EU’s border protection agency. Weber also noted member states’ sovereignty, which he called an issue that Hungary also fights for. Weber criticised Greece for not allowing the EU to implement the required measures along its borders, which restricts the union’s scope of manoeuvring.

Yet, if Greece is unable to protect its external borders, then Frontex should do it, he said.

Effective border protection is a precondition for all further consultations on refugee issues, he added.

Foreign ministry official discusses bilateral ties, migration in Sweden

Stockholm (MTI) – Foreign ministry state secretary László Szabó held talks in Stockholm over the past two days discussing, among others, bilateral ties and migration.

Szabó told MTI over the phone on Thursday that in talks with Swedish foreign ministry state secretary Annika Soder, they discussed Hungarian-Swedish political ties and their respective handling of Europe’s migrant crisis.

The two countries have taken significantly different approaches to migration, Szabó noted, but added that in talks with Soder, they had identified several aspects of the handling of the crisis that they could agree on.

 

He said Sweden had stopped accepting undocumented migrants, arguing that the country was now doing exactly what Hungary had been doing for a year and a half.

Szabó said he and the state secretary also discussed the European Union’s Eastern Partnership programme. The two countries agree that the EU should be further enlarged, he said.

He said Hungary and Sweden supported each other’s UN candidacies: Hungary supports Sweden’s candidacy for non-permanent membership on the Security Council and has the backing of Sweden in its own candidacy for membership on the UN Human Rights Council.

Szabó also held talks with Oscar Stenstrom, state secretary for the ministry of EU affairs and trade and deputy state secretary, and Karin Olofsdotter, former ambassador to Budapest, and discussed Hungary’s economic achievements of the past six years.

Szabó also met Ulf Pehrsson, vice-president for government and industry relations at Ericsson. He noted that Ericsson’s second biggest European R+D base is in Budapest. The company recently decided to move its Budapest headquarters to a new building, where its services and development departments will be under one roof. Ericsson’s Budapest base is in the process of developing fifth-generation mobile communications systems, Szabó noted.

Hungarian-Bavarian inter-government committee holds meeting in Budapest

Budapest, October 6, 2016 (MTI) – Economic ties between Hungary and Bavaria are developing well and Bavaria has a major impact on Hungary’s economic performance, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at the 19th meeting of the Hungarian-Bavarian Intergovernmental Joint Committee in Budapest on Thursday.

A third of Hungary-Germany trade is with Bavaria, which takes a 36 percent share of Hungarian exports to Germany and a produces a third of Germany’s investments in Hungary, Szijjártó noted. The car industry, the backbone of Hungary’s economy, accounts for 72 percent of the latter, he said.

Beate Merk, Minister of European Affairs and Regional Relationships at the Bavarian Prime Minister’s office, said they are looking forward to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit in a few days’ time.

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Szijjártó said Germany is Hungary’s most important economic, trade and investment partner. The Hungarian government has three strategic partners from Bavaria: Audi, Siemens and Knorr-Bremse, and each of these companies plays a serious role in Hungary’s economy, he added.

Bavarian investments in Hungary and the involvement of Hungarian companies as suppliers result in state-of-the-art technology being brought to Hungary, enabling it to be among the first to change over to new industrial technologies.

He added that Hungary’s investment and legislative environment also helps Bavarian investments. From January, firms that promote labour mobility and expand their research, development and innovation activities will be eligible for tax allowances, Szijjarto added.

Szijjártó said illegal migration carried a high economic risk for the whole of Europe because Schengen could “tumble” if external borders are not protected. Its survival is in the interest of both Hungary and Germany, he added.

The end of Schengen would result in the loss European economic competitiveness, he said. He underlined Hungary’s position that the first step to resolving the migration crisis was to protect the external borders. Ever since Hungary built a fence on its southern border, the relevant legal regulations have been enacted and the Visegrad countries have provided help. Hungary can now assure Bavaria that illegal migrants will not arrive there from Hungary, the minister said.

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Merk said she shared Szijjarto’s views concerning migration in many respects. She added that she, too, believed that Europe’s external borders must be protected and it is necessary to know who is arriving and what they want. When humanitarian help is needed, it must be given, she said. But people arriving in Germany for economic reasons should not be allowed to stay and they should be led back to their homes, she said.

Had the Balkan route not been closed, Germany would be in the same position now as it was a year ago, she added. It is necessary to state that countries do not have an unlimited capacity to integrate and receive migrants, she said.

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

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

Polish police officers and border guards start their duty at Serbian border

On Tuesday, a contingent of 49 Polish police officers and border guards started their duty at the Serbian border section in Csongrád county.

As part of the V4 border management cooperation, on 18 September 2016, 25 police officers and 24 border guards arrived in Hungary. Their duties will involve the protection of the green border secured by the temporary border fence erected between border crossing points, patrolling and monitoring the border on foot and using vehicles.

Photo: MTI
Photo: MTI

Until 29 October, the Polish officers will attend to their tasks in their own uniforms and equipment, and off-road vehicles and thermographic cameras will aid their work. Their scope of action – where Hungarian law applies – can be exercised under the supervision of Hungarian police officers.

Polish border guards have already provided assistance to Hungarian authorities from 1 November for one month to protect the Schengen borders.

Photo: MTI
Photo: MTI

Photo: MTI

Hungary keeps many asylum seekers stranded on border – HRW report

 

Budapest, September 20 (MTI) – Hungary is keeping many of the most vulnerable asylum seekers stranded on its border in poor conditions while they wait to enter the country to file their claims, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) published on Tuesday.

The report said there have been claims of border officials using “excessive force” against asylum seekers, but Hungary’s interior ministry denied this.

“It is particularly cruel to force vulnerable asylum seekers who are already inside Hungary back to the Serbian border to line up for weeks in awful conditions,” Lydia Gall, a researcher at HRW wrote in her report.

After interviewing entrants, the organisation said it “documented 12 cases of violence against migrants and asylum seekers,” including unaccompanied children and a family with young children, who crossed into Hungary irregularly after July 5. A law in force since July 5 allows police to send back asylum seekers caught on Hungary’s territory to Serbia if they were stopped within 8 kilometers of the border. Many vulnerable people are stranded at the border for weeks, the report said.

Asylum seekers said they were “beaten with batons, pummelled with fists, and kicked,” in many cases by officials in uniforms. Some asylum seekers said police were not helping injured people, in some cases women or babies who needed assistance. Another group said police used gas spray on them, even near a baby. The HRW said there were photographs documenting these incidents.

Hungary’s interior ministry denied the claims in a statement sent to MTI on Tuesday. It said that this is not the first time the “pro-immigration” organisation was launching an attack against Hungary. Hungarian police and soldiers are acting legally and professionally and are applying the principles of proportionality, the statement said. There is special attention paid to a humanitarian and respectful handling of illegal migrants, and the many unaccompanied children who arrive receive protection, health care and education, it said. The ministry at the same time expects migrants to obey the laws of the European Union and Hungary, the statement said.

Photo: Balázs Béli