Reacting to remarks made by European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas, Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó told Hungarian news agency MTI that the 2 October quota referendum is now timelier and more justified than ever before.

On Monday, 19 September Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said in Brussels that the European Commission (EC) has no plans to abandon the mandatory EU quotas of the migrant relocation scheme, despite the fact that some think this is the correct interpretation of EC President Jean-Claude Juncker’s comment from last week that “solidarity…must come from the heart, it cannot be forced, it cannot be imposed”. 

In connection with this, István Simicskó told MTI by phone that Brussels had made it clear on multiple occasions that it has no intention of withdrawing its migrant redistribution plan. Moreover, according to a European Parliament resolution passed last week, the plan is actually to speed up the implementation of the relocation scheme.

The minister added that the quota scheme had three “especially dangerous” elements. The first of these is the plan to resettle migrants across the bloc, under which Hungary would have to take in thousands of migrants. The second is a proposal to impose a heavy fine on member states that refuse to admit migrants. Lastly, the EU also plans to facilitate family reunifications, thereby increasing the number of migrants that would be settled on the continent, István Simicskó said.

He emphasized that from Hungary’s perspective, the mandatory migrant quotas entail serious economic, cultural and security risks that the country must not take. He added that the referendum is not about struggles in party politics, but rather about the future of Hungary, so he requested everybody to exercise their citizenship right independent of their view on party politics, participate in the quota referendum and vote no.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)