“During the course of the National Consultation people have until 20 May to reinforce the standpoint that the Government has developed on illegal immigration”, Parliamentary State Secretary Pál Völner from the Ministry of Justice said at a press conference.

“The Government imitated the National Consultation to enable the public to also voice its opinion on the issue of migration”, Mr. Völner said. “Our position will be greatly reinforced if the public confirms the Governments’ standpoint by voicing its opinion until 20 May”, he declared, adding that this will enable the Government to carry on representing this standpoint in a consistent manner in future.

The State Secretary pointed out that Brussels would like to have the “permanent resettlement quota” adopted during the course of the summed. “Hungarian non-governmental organisations funded by George Soros are also assisting Brussels in this endeavour”, he said.

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Mr. Völner highlighted the fact that the national Consultation provides citizens with the opportunity to support the Government’s standpoint, or to voice an opposite opinion in the issue.

He reminded the press that Hungary has been under “strong migration pressure” since 2015 and that the Government and the national Assembly have established both the physical and legal border barriers required to combat this. However, it is also clear that the protection of the Schengen border does not enjoy the full support of Brussels and “pro-migrant organisations”, Mr. Völner said.

The State Secretary also noted that the amendment on the act on non-governmental organisations is being opposed by organisations that “are at the greatest odds with the Government on the issue of migration”.

In reply to a question from the press on who the Government believes has a financial interest in migration, he said that in addition to people traffickers it would seem that this is also “an extremely profitable activity” for human rights activists. “Thy receive hundreds of millions of forints from abroad each year to fund their migrant-related activities, in addition to which another aspect is that the “cashing in” of damages and legal fees awarded to such organisations also means they have an interests in maintaining the situation”, Mr. Völner explained.

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In reply to another question, the State Secretary said that the Ministry has been is continuous contact with the European Commission since 2015, when legislation relating to the border barrier first appeared. The “debating” of issues reach various stages, but have never reached the infringement procedure stage, they are usually closed at a relatively early stage, Mr. Völner said, adding that he trusted that the latest amendments would also stand up to this kind of test.

He also noted that the points raised by the Commission, which are often the result of external submissions, in no way mean that the Hungarian regulations are regarded as being incompatible with European law, but simply that they wish to clear up these issues.

In reply to a question concerning the fact that the Constitutional Court had received the LMP party’s application with relation to the CEU, which was also supported by Jobbik, Mr. Völner said that if he had to assess the facts from a political perspective then he is surprised that Jobbik has joined “the political ranks that are funded by Soros”.

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The State Secretary said he trusted that the regulations would also withstand the test of the Constitutional Court in view of the fact that they are not aimed at restricting anyone’s operations, but at revoking certain privileges.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)