On 2 October, people will cast their votes on the future they wish for their children and grandchildren, and thus this referendum is decisive for all Hungarians, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at a civic forum in Budapest.
When the first migrants had arrived in Germany, France, Belgium or the Netherlands, nobody had thought that “they would import social conflicts” that have fundamentally changed the life of these communities, he said.
The Minister asked the forum’s participants to vote “No” at the quota referendum. This would provide a mandate guaranteeing for Hungary to remain a country of national and Christian values, as it has been in the past one thousand years.
As he put it, “an unprecedented wave of migrants” has also reached Hungary. The answer of the EU to this phenomenon had been a package of measures, among them the mandatory quota on the forced relocation of migrants and the easing of family reunification rules. The only way to stop Brussels, he said, is this referendum, as this will vest the Government with the strongest mandate possible. Moreover, the EU has made a decision without prior consultation on Hungary’s standpoint.
Although several people in Europe state that multicultural societies are the future, several so-called no-go zones have been created in a lot of metropolitan cities of Europe, parallel societies are co-existing and there are more and more assaults against women, he pointed out.
Naturally, Mihály Varga said, the Hungarian Government does not claim that every migrant is a terrorist, but the threat of terrorism did increase with migration, as more than three hundred people have hitherto died in terror attacks. Speaking of Hungary’s standpoint, the Minister added that instead of the relocation programme, efforts should rather focus on improving border protection and on addressing problems at their roots. It is obvious that the defence system on the country’s southern border has been working, and cooperation between the Visegrad countries is “exemplary”, as these countries have found the right remedy.
European Parliament MP György Schöpflin said, the process of European integration has been the best possible conflict-solving mechanism, but the flow of migrants poses a challenge for which the EU has failed to find the proper scheme.
They are against the mandatory quota, he stressed, as it is undemocratic, and “arbitrary”. The quota helps the European Commission to increase its power, he added. It is also a hypocritical system, as it cannot be stable, there can be new relocation decisions again and again. The “liberal elite”, György Schöpflin also said, wishes to see a homogenous mankind, and nations are from aspect “disturbing factors”. The Visegrad Four and ex-communist countries, however, believe that nations do matter.
The fence erected on the southern border does not aim to keep out those who seek refugee status, but to make them enter the country legally.
(Ministry for National Economy)
