The Minister heading the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister takes the view that Europe must face up to the fact that the more immigrants come to Europe, the greater the threat of terrorism will be.

Antal Rogán pointed out in connection with the Nice terrorist attack on the programme Vasárnapi Újság of Kossuth Rádió that Brussels should consider radically changing its current European refugee policy and should stop the flow of immigration because the stance it takes at present encourages it.

All the signs appear to indicate that Western-Europe has failed to integrate immigrants, and therefore rather than bringing more migrants to Europe, they should stop migration, he stressed.

The Minister said that in a considerable part of Europe, the people have turned against immigration, but it seems that Brussels does not want to listen to what the people have to say.

Hungary is the first from among the Member States of the European Union which is prepared to listen to the people’s opinion, and this is why a referendum will be held on 2 October where the country will be able to decide whether to accept Brussels’ ultimatum, Mr Rogán said.

The Minister also highlighted on the programme that the pressure of immigrants has not ceased on the Hungarian border, despite the fact that the fence is in place and Hungary is one of the strongest guards of the European borders, and while „crossing the border is the hardest here, at the Hungarian border”, there are ongoing attempts.

He indicated: those who are apprehended within 8 kilometres of the border are taken back to the reception centres which are beyond the fence, but still in Hungarian territory. This conforms to the European norms, and this is what Austria does as well. There is an official procedure for the submission of asylum requests, but 90 per cent of those arriving here are not eligible for submitting a request either under the Hungarian laws, or the European laws, he added.

On behalf of the Government, the Minister asked Hungarian citizens travelling abroad to take the warnings seriously, and if necessary, to contact the consular services. He stressed: the threat of terrorism has increased throughout Europe, in particular, in the countries with a large immigrant population.

(MTI, Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister)