The Brussels quota package involves major economic, cultural and security risks, Csaba Dömötör, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister stressed at his press conference held in Budapest.
The Hungarian people cannot be expected to take these risks, in particular, in the light of the fact that they are not in any way responsible for inducing the migration crisis, he said.
This is true even if we know: the vast majority of the immigrants are victims “of their own governments, people smugglers, and terrorists, but above all, of the Brussels policy which makes promises that cannot be kept”, he stated.
Mr Dömötör said: it is regrettable that the opposition forces attempt to use the issue of the referendum for party political purposes by encouraging people to boycott the referendum or to cast invalid votes, or with posters which turn the stakes of the referendum into a joke. “What we have at stake here, however, is not about parties, but about something much more important, the future of Hungary”, he added.
The Minister of State asked everyone to attend and to say no at the referendum to be held on 2 October which will have – as he stressed in answer to a question – primarily political implications, given that “as of 3 October the ball will be in Brussels’ court”, and Brussels cannot afford “to continue to force this dangerous policy”.
We need the referendum because we believe that Brussels gave a flawed answer to the migration crisis. While European citizens would expect us to protect the borders with all our might, Brussels adopted a quota package which is contrary to the will and interests of the European and Hungarian people, he said.
He stressed: Brussels wants to treat the problem by distributing it with the quota package through the resettlement of immigrants in the Member States, while it is obvious that this is a question that cannot be decided without consulting the people.
Among the three “particularly dangerous elements” of the Brussels package, the Minister of State mentioned the mandatory distribution mechanism without an upper limit, the contemplated imposition of heavy penalties on Member States which reject the mandatory quotas, and the fact that it would facilitate family reunifications, thereby increasing the number of those resettled.
In answer to a question, at the event Tamás Menczer, Press Chief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spoke about the case of the Hungarian woman stuck in Syria with her children who contacted the Hungarian authorities. He said: since the closure of the Embassy in Damascus in 2012, matters related to Syria have been delegated to the Hungarian representation in Beirut (Lebanon), but if someone contacts any other Hungarian Embassy – as in the present case when the Embassy in Amman (Jordan) was contacted – “they may rest assured that they will be given the assistance they need”. He averted the enquiry concerning the specific case by saying that he does not have the permission of the individuals concerned to make statements. He said, however, that in cases like this the authorities help Hungarian citizens to obtain an entry permit or visa to the country in which the Hungarian foreign representation is able to proceed in their case.
(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister)
