The second fence of the double fence system along the whole, 155 kilometre stretch of the Hungarian-Serbian border has been completed.
At a press conference on Friday in Röszke, the Ministry of Interior’s Parliamentary State Secretary Károly Kontrát said that Hungarian border protection was now stronger than every before.
“The Government decided to construct the second fence because we must prepare for even greater migration pressure”, the politician stressed.
“The mass migration affecting Europe has been continuous for the past two years and the Balkan migration route is still active”, the State Secretary said, adding that increasing numbers are setting out for the continent with the approach of summer.
“Italy has registered the arrival of 33 percent more migrants during the first four months of the year than during the similar period last year. Action against international people smuggling organisations seems to be having no effect”, Mr. Kontrát told the press.
The politician pointed out that despite the fact that it was decided at the EU summit in Malta that hot-spots must be established in Libya, this has not happened to this day, and boats setting out from Africa are not being turned back either.
“The fate of the agreement between the EU and Turkey is also doubtful, and if the agreement were to fall through it would have profound implications”, he said.
“Thanks to the stricter regulations that came into force a month ago with relation to Hungary’s legal border barrier, migrants are avoiding the Hungarian border. This, and the completion of the second fence has now enabled a reduction in the number of police and military personnel on duty at the border, who have performed beyond the call of duty until now”, the State Secretary said.
According to Mr. Kontrát, “Brussels and the pro-migrant Soros organisations have placed the legal and physical border barriers under fire, they would like us to let in the migrants” and would like to see the fence demolished. But Hungary will continue to protect its border and the external Schengen border of the European Union, he declared.
The State Secretary told reporters that the construction of the second row of fences had cost 4.8 billion forints (EUR 15.4M). According to the information handed out at the press conference, the prison service completed the work within sixty days with the involvement of 150 professionals and 600 prisoners. The second fence has been reinforced with 2-metre high and 8 mm thick welded wire mesh, and has been fitted with the required NATO barbed wire.
Speaking on Kossuth Radio’s “180 Minutes” program on Friday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the double fence system established along the southern border will assure the security of the Hungarian people for many years to come.
“The 155 kilometre fence system is capable of withstanding any number of people and is to all intents and purposes impenetrable”, he said, adding that we will have to continue to live with the threat of migration pressure from the Balkan migration route.
He indicated however, that the European Commission, George Soros and NGOs have placed Hungary’s migration regulations under attack and would like Hungary to demolish the fence, change its legal procedures and let the migrants in. “Brussels may well launch infringement proceedings with relation to the issue”, the Prime Minister added.
(MTI)
