Schengen

Nearly a hundred illegal border crossings at the long weekend

According to index.hu, 98 people were caught for illegal border crossing at the long weekend, MTI wrote.

From October 23 to October 25, the National Police Headquarters (ORFK) said proceedings were launched against one person for document forgery. According to the Sunday’s summary of ORFK, actions have been taken against 390 861 immigrants at Schengen external borders until October 24 this year, and criminal proceedings have been launched against 849 immigrants from September 15.

based on the article of index.hu
translated by BA

Photo: MTI (Migrants atthe Austrian-Slovenian border)

Hungarian government against opening “corridor” for migrants, says spokesman

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary does not support any proposal to open corridors on its closed southern border sections for migrants trying to enter the EU, government spokesman Zoltán Kovács said on Wednesday.

Speaking after a meeting of Hungarian, Croatian, Austrian and Slovenian police chiefs in Vienna, Kovács said the four countries agreed that the migrant crisis could be resolved by reinforcing the Turkish-Greek border and by setting up international border patrols. Such a solution would have to be approved by both Turkey and Greece, he added.

Kovács said the police chiefs did not even discuss the possibility of opening a corridor for migrants.

Concerning registration points, the police chiefs agreed that only migrants who are proven to be eligible for asylum should be allowed into the EU from hotspots. Hotspots should, however, remain open in the other direction, he said.

The spokesman said Hungary is open to “doing its fair share” in returning “the hundreds of thousands of migrants whose asylum requests had been rejected”.

Kovács noted that Hungary has spent over 250 million euros on border protection in recent months.

Photo: MTI

Hungarian-Croatian border is closed for 30 days

According to hvg.hu, the temporary border closure will last for 30 days; the enactment came into effect from 17 October and will be repealed on the 31st day after it was introduced.

As the recent EU Summit on Thursday could not arrive at a decision about the EU defending Greece’s external border with joint forces, but it is expected from the members to protect their own borders, the national security cabinet decided to endorse the Schengen agreement, therefore the border is closed from 17 October – announced Peter Szijjarto on Friday, writes hvg.hu.

Official gazette called Magyar Kozlony also published Sandor Pinter’s (Minister of the Interior) enactment on the same matter on Friday. According to Pinter, in order to protect public security the border between Hungary and Croatia has to be closed, and it cannot be crossed at the Murakeresztur-Kotoriba (Kotor)-, Gyekenyes-Koprivnica (Kapronca)-, and Magyarboly-Beli Manastir (Pélmonostor) railway border crossing points.

The railway points can only be crossed on an ad hoc basis, if it does not endangers the protection of the border.

The temporary border closure will last for 30 days; the enactment came into effect from 17 October and will be repealed on the 31st day after it was introduced.

The Croatian Minister of the Interior called its C plan into action, after the Hungarian Government announced the closure of the Croatian-Hungarian green border, and that it will tighten its border controls. This closure means that refugees will be directed to the Slovenian border, although this decision was not made in accordance with the Slovenian government. If Austria closes its borders, Croatia will close them as well.

based on an article of hvg.hu
translated by Adrienn Sain

Photo: MTI

Szijjarto warns of dire consequences if Schengen collapses

Daily News Hungary economy

Budapest, October 19 (MTI) – The Schengen visa-free regime could collapse and disappear if the European Union fails to protect its external borders, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday.

Schengen’s end would have unforeseeable economic consequences, he said at an event of the Hungarian European Business Council in Budapest, where the organisation’s 2015 report on Hungary was presented.

There is a fierce fight in the world for new investments, but it is just as important to hold on to old investors as to find new ones, Szijjarto said. The availability of adequate education and trained workers is paramount in terms of drawing new investment, he added.

Szijjarto said he is planning a meeting with heads of HEBC-member companies soon to discuss workforce training and the new vocational education system in Hungary.

The authors of the HEBC report included leaders of top companies such as ABB, AkzoNobel, British Telecom, Ericsson, GDF Suez, Magyar Telekom, Henkel, Nestle, OMV, Philips, SAP, Shell and Volvo Group Trucks.

Czech Republic sends troops and Poland sends a helicopter to help defending the Schengen border in Hungary

The Czech Republic sends 25 soldiers and technical equipment to Hungary to help defending the Schengen border. Later on, troop deployment can be expanded and may reach one hundred or more reported the Czech ministry of defense.

The Czech soldiers will remain in Hungary for approximately two months but their mission can be extended said Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky on Monday in Prague.

The Czech Republic is ready to send dozens more soldiers and police officers to Hungary if need be.

Poland sent a helicopter which arrived in Hungary with a crew of eight and with one liaison officer on Saturday said Polish border guard spokesperson Joanna Rokicka.

The military assistance of the V4 countries to help protect the Schengen border is part of an effort by the EU border agency (Frontex) to ease the migratory pressure on Hungary.

translated by hungarianambiance.com

Migrant detained for alleged role in clashes heard on terrorism charges

Riot police’s investigation office heard on terrorism charges the Syrian man, who was taken in preliminary detention for his alleged role in clashes between migrants and police at the Serbian-Hungarian border last week, the Hungarian police said on its website on Friday.

The preliminary detention of the suspect, known as Ahmed H, was ordered by a local court earlier this week for his alleged role of being one of the organisers of the riot at the Röszke border crossing on September 16.

The national police headquarters said earlier this week that according to international information the Syrian man, aged 39, is also a member of an Islamic fundamentalist movement called Tablighi Jamaat. The movement is also used as a front for terrorist organisations sending radicals to target countries.

The suspect was found in possession of a total of nine passports, eight of which were issued to people other than himself, national police said earlier. He held a Schengen visa but had entered Hungary illegally. He held a work permit in Cyprus, police said.

Related article:
AHMED H. HAD SEVEN DIFFERENT PASSPORTS WHEN HE GOT CAUGHT

Photo: police.hu

Semjén encourages ethnic Hungarians in West Ukraine to take citizenship

Budapest, August 5 (MTI) – Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén on Friday encouraged ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine to take Hungarian citizenship, saying they are all entitled to it.

Semjén told the press after meeting 55 ethnic Hungarian children from western Ukraine in parliament that having a Hungarian passport would guarantee them security. It is also an opportunity to become a European citizen with full rights, he added.

The number of citizenship applications submitted so far is over 750,000 and expected to reach 800,000 by the end of the year, Semjén said. More than 700,000 people have already taken the citizenship oath, he added.

In a message to ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia and Ukraine, he said that even though some countries currently do not recognise dual citizenship, this practice in unsustainable in the long run. Just like it has already happened in the Czech Republic, recognising dual citizenship is only a matter of time in Slovakia, he added.

Ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine are in a war situation through no fault of their own, bearing no responsibility for the events in the Crimea and Donetsk, he said. They are always welcome in Hungary and will be safe here, he added.

Hungary will grant citizenship to every Hungarian who applies for it but will not give out the names to anybody, as this information is “practically state secret”, he said.