In January and February, there have been 5,500 prohibited border-crossing attempts at the Hungarian border which is a significant increase compared with last year’s corresponding period, Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister György Bakondi said on the public service television news channel M1 on Wednesday morning.

The chief advisor said warding off these attempts imposes a considerable burden upon police officers and soldiers serving at the border.

He added that, according to UN data, there are more than 120,000 migrants on the Balkans route.

The measures implemented by the government in the interest of security are emerging ever more emphatically both in the European Union’s legislative acts currently in the making and in its joint efforts, Mr Bakondi said.

“As far as we can see, there is no need for any further changes regarding the system itself, meaning the system of border protection and its legal background,” he pointed out.

The experiences which the Hungarian authorities have gained, among others, in the context of repatriations or the transit zone also emerge in the EU’s migration and asylum pact, the chief advisor said.

(MTI)