“There are now 16 European Union member states that do not regard the draft proposal on the reform of the Dublin System as acceptable in its current form”, the Ministry of Interior’s Deputy State Secretary for EU and International Affairs Mátyás Hegyaljai told Parliament’s European Affairs Committee on Monday.

In his report on EU draft legislation relating to the reform of the Common European Asylum System (the Dublin System), the Deputy State Secretary told the Committee: Hungary is now not the only one that objects to the mandatory resettlement quota, so do the countries of the Visegrád Group and Austria, in addition to which last week Holland and Germany also took the position that in this form the Dublin IV dossier is not suitable for the adoption of a consensus.

There are currently sixteen EU countries according to whom the draft Dublin IV legislation is unacceptable in its current form. We are waiting for the June 28-29 session of the European Council, but do not believe that an agreement can be reached there, despite the fact that the European Parliament has called on everyone to adopt the draft, he said. Austria’s standpoint has changed completely since the new Austrian Government was formed, and they too now say that asylum-seekers must be screened before entering the European Union, and people who are not eligible for asylum must not be allowed into the territory of the EU, Mr. Hegyaljai indicated. It is clearly extremely difficult to expel immigrants who are not entitled to asylum. “Once people enter the EU, we cannot get rid of them”, he said.

For a long time, Hungary has represented the position that instead of talking about distribution quotas and instead of forcing people who have come to Europe into various counties, we should be concentrating on protecting the EU’s external borders and on taking action to prevent the abuse of the asylum system, he stressed. With relation to the guidelines for the admittance of people who request international protection, the Deputy State Secretary said: Hungary does not support the fact that asylum-seekers should be afforded the same rights and privileges as the given country’s own citizens.

With relation to the draft procedural regulations, he highlighted the fact that in Hungary’s view states that are involved in accession negotiations with the EU are also safe third countries. On the subject of the resettlement quota system, he indicated: In Hungary’s view there’s nothing wrong with a country wanting to solve its demographic and labour market or other problems via resettlement, but it cannot be mandatory, its voluntary nature must be preserved.

In reply to a question from the Committee, Mr. Hegyaljai said more and more countries are recognising the fact that in addition to the EU-Turkey agreement, Hungary is also playing a role in closing the Western Balkan migration route. In 2015, Hungary received only criticism from many countries and a host of international organisation and NGOs because of the fence, but as time passed and it began to become clear that migration pressure from the Western Balkan migration route is gradually decreasing, and we have now reached the point where even German Chancellor Angela Merkel has praised the border security fence, he recalled. “There is perhaps nothing more we need to say about the matter”, he noted.

The Deputy State Secretary said that in his opinion, in view of developments concerning the fence, he trusts that with relation to the quota all countries will also realise that this is not a good solution in this form and that it cannot be forced on refugees, or on the member states of the European Union.

At the session of the Committee, a proposal by independent Liberal MP Anett Bősz, according to which the Government should issue a political statement confirming that Hungary reaffirms its existing membership of the European Union and is standing up for EU values, was rejected. The body’s Fidesz Chair, Richárd Höcsik, did not regard the proposal as timely in view of the fact that following the formation of the Government Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently confirmed that Hungary’s place is in the EU and that Hungary’s interests lie in a strong Europe.

(MTI)