The Government continues to expect the European Commission to foot one half of Hungary’s border protection costs, and sincerely hopes that Brussels will pay, Antal Rogán, the Minister heading the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister said on the programme Vasárnapi újság of Kossuth Rádió on Sunday.

As he said, this would not be unprecedented as the European Commission has already awarded major grants to Greece, Italy and Bulgaria in connection with the migration crisis and the protection of the border. In his view, this would therefore be justified also in the case of Hungary.

Hungary did not ask for assistance first, but took action: as soon as it was conceivably possible, it erected the border fence, and trained and put into service some three thousand border guards who are serving at the border also today, the Minister said, indicating that this has been an enormous unforeseeable expense for the Hungarian budget amounting to HUF 270 billion. To put this into perspective, he remarked that Hungary’s educational expenditures will increase from 2017 to 2018 by HUF 117 billion, including a 5 per cent pay rise for teachers and a 15 per cent pay rise for higher education workers.

By comparison, HUF 270 billion is „an enormous sum”, and „we’re not saying that we want the whole amount”, but that „in the spirit of solidarity – that is always spoken of in the EU and in Brussels – we only want half of it” as by protecting its borders, Hungary does not only protect its own citizens, but every European citizen as well, he said.

Brussels is of the theoretical opinion, Mr Rogán continued, that it does not pay for the construction of fences, despite the fact that, for instance, in Bulgaria it contributed to the building of the border fence. However, Hungary also has expenditures of a different nature, and the Government is therefore ready to engage in talks with the EU, he added.

He said: solidarity cannot be a one-way street. In other words, it is unacceptable, he pointed out, that according to Brussels, „solidarity means that everyone should take in migrants”, while those who protect their borders are not entitled to anything.

“We know the first answer that will come from Brussels, we’ll respond to it, and we’ll continue to expect Brussels to cover these costs, at least half of them”, he said.

In answer to the question as to why Prime Minister Viktor Orbán waited this long with his letter addressed to the President of the European Commission, the head of the Cabinet Office said: the Government first did its job over the course of two years, and it may be stated by now that Hungary has fully met its obligation, is ready to fully and comprehensively protect the borders, “and we’re asking for the financing of our expenses from here on”.

The Minister said regarding the decision expected to be adopted in the quota lawsuit next week: he does not expect much of the decision as he suspects that the European Commission will adopt a political decision, rather than a legal one “as they’re under enormous political pressure”. However, if Hungary is called to account on grounds of solidarity there, “we, too, have to state finally: solidarity is equally manifested when a Member State protects all the others”, and Brussels – on behalf of the other Member States – must assume a share of this as well.

He indicated that whichever way the court will decide, the Government will not accept that Brussels should have the authority to tell us who will be relocated to Hungary. This falls within the authority of the Parliaments and Governments of the Member States, he stated, also remarking that quite a few people have been granted refugee status in Hungary as well in the past few years.

In the context of the Prime Minister’s speech delivered at the Kötcse civic picnic on Saturday, Mr Rogán said: the Prime Minister spoke about the future of Europe in which the migrant crisis plays a part. Mr Orbán drew attention to the fact, he said citing his words, that there is a calculation within NATO circles based on which some 60 million people may set out from Africa up to 2020. In other words, the „migrant problem” did not only not abate, but may escalate into a magnitude on an entirely new scale during the period to come, the head of the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister said, adding: there are also plans to turn Europe into a continent „of a mixed population” which would change the image of the continent in its very foundations.

The Prime Minister further highlighted, Mr Rogán cited him, that the stake of the 2018 elections is „whether we can protect the fence and the results we have achieved in the past seven years”, such as the security of families, the family protection measures, the tax benefit available in respect of children and the security of jobs.

Mr Orbán also quoted French President Emmanuel Macron in Kötcse who takes the view that the western world is in a state of crisis today. The western world is being tormented by a variety of crises: migration and the fight against terrorism which is related to migration as well as economic competitiveness and demographic problems, Mr Rogán said.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)