A new border police training base was officially opened in Szeged on Thursday. “Let the presentation of the ceremonial keys to the base be a symbol of the fact that the authorities will apply all possible means to protect Hungary, the Hungarian people and our southern borders”, the Ministry of Interior’s Parliamentary State Secretary said at the event.
“Training at the base, where border police officers can acquire the latest and most modern theoretical and practical knowledge, will begin next Monday with 30 participants”, Károly Kontrát announced, adding that the training centre will contribute to enabling Hungarians to feel safe in Hungary.
We are “living in historic times”; 380 thousand illegal immigrants have arrived in Hungary so far. During the course of the national consultation on the subject, the people of Hungary decided that the country and the southern border must be protected, in the interests of which Parliament amended 13 pieces of legislation in September, Mr. Kontrát pointed out.
The legal conditions for protecting the border have been created and the conditions for the physical protection of the border have been established through the construction of the temporary border security fence; border police missions units have been created at the stand-by police base, and thanks to changes in legislation the Hungarian Defence Force may also be deployed to protect the country’s borders, he explained.
As a result of diplomatic activity, the other countries of the Visegrád Group (Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) also support the protection of Hungary’s borders, Mr. Kontrát added.
The State Secretary said that the number of illegal immigrants crossing the Hungarian-Serbian border had decreased to minimum levels thanks to the measures introduced. While 9380 illegal immigrants entered Hungary on 14 September (the day before the new legislation came into force), only about thirty attempted to cross the border yesterday, he said, adding that it would seem the task will be a long-term one and last more than just a week or two, and so it is important that border police perform their duties as effectively as possible.
The border police training base was built next to the Szeged Border Police Vocational School using both domestic and EU funding; the cost of the greenfield project was some 300 million forints (EUR 960,000), Mr. Kontrát said, also noting that in his experience the social standing of the police and the army have increased significantly since the events of 15 September and the legislative changes.
Head of the Police Education and Training Centre Ottó Dsupin told Hungarian news agency MTI: “The base is expected to remain in operation for at least ten years, with border police officers being trained in 3-4 day training cycles about, for instance, the use of the state-of-the-art document examination equipment and new law enforcement methods. Practical training will occur along the Serbian border at Röszke. The base can house up to 34 people at a time during their period of training”.
“Colleagues from the European Union’s border protection body Frontex will also be teaching at the base, which will also be a venue for professional conferences and scientific research”, he added.
The ceremonial keys to the base were received by head of the National Police Headquarters’ Border Police Department, László Balázs.
(Ministry of Interior)
