According to Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács, there is continued migration pressure on Europe’s borders, although certain member states have introduced increasingly effective measures to combat this.

Speaking on Hungarian M1 television’s Thursday evening current affairs programme, the Government Spokesperson was asked about the fact that during the course of the day Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás announced at a press conference: Hungary has reinforced the protection of its southern border and offered its assistance to Croatia and every country affected by the Balkan migration route.

Mr. Kovács said it was a conservative estimate that 70 thousand migrants could be on their way to the Balkans, adding that as the weather worsens and large numbers of people amass, it is increasingly likely for events to occur such as those on the Bosnian-Croatian border, where migrants attacked police on Wednesday.

“Hungary is reinforcing its police and border hunter presence along the Hungarian-Croatian border, in addition to which it has offered its assistance to the Bosnian and Croatian authorities”, he emphasised. “Hungarian police officers are also present in Macedonia and Serbia along stretches of the border where migrants appear”, he added.

Mr. Kovács was also asked with relation to the expansion of the Family Home Creation Allowance scheme (CSOK), explaining that the necessary funds are available, and that this is the first step in what the Government has promised with relation to building societies. “The goal is to ensure that a new home can be purchased as rapidly and efficiently as possible from the preferential loan provided by the state”, he stressed. At the upcoming national consultation, the Hungarians can expect to be asked what other forms of family support they would like and what they regard as deserving of funding, he said.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)