“Based on the decision of President of the Republic János Áder, it is now certain that the people of Hungary will have an opportunity to stop Brussels”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in reaction to the date for the referendum on the compulsory resettlement quota having been set. “Hungary has not transferred any kind of sphere of competence to Brussels based on which compulsory resettlement might be possible”, Minister of Justice László Trócsányi declared.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade stressed: Brussels’ immigration policy is “running into a dead end” and is contrary to the interests of the EU, Europe and Hungary. “People have the right to express their opinions with regard to this and similarly important issues”, he declared.
“The Hungarian have the exclusive right to decide who they wish to live with and this is also an issue of sovereignty; Brussels and the Brussels institutions cannot decide this instead of them”, Mr. Szijjártó said.
A lot depends on the referendum. Hungary is “a safe place in this topsy-turvy Europe” and it is significant that we can state this, because this does not go without saying these days in view of the fact that “disorder and disorganisation” is characterising more and more countries. According to the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Hungary has succeeded in remaining a safe place; there aren’t any no-go zones here, people and investments are safe, and this is the most important prerequisite for competitiveness.
According to Mr. Szijjártó, Hungary’s security is, however, being endangered by Brussels’ “irresponsible immigration policy”, which would bring back the “insane state of affairs” in which tens of thousands of people crossed the borders of the European Union every day whenever and wherever they wished without any kind of control or supervision.
The Minister also said that citizens with registered addresses in Hungary, but who will be abroad during the referendum, will be able to vote at Hungarian foreign representations. To do this, they will have to register at least eight days before the referendum, i.e. by 4 p.m. on 24 September, he added.
At the press conference, Minister of Justice László Trócsányi stressed: “According to the Constitution, Hungary is a member of the European Union, but only transfers spheres of competence to the EU to the extent required, and migration belongs to the subject of security and freedom, which is a shared sphere of competence”. “A decision on the population of a country falls within the sphere of authority of the Member State”, he declared.
“The October referendum on the compulsory resettlement of no-Hungarian citizens in Hungary is fully compliant with the Constitution”, he stated.
“It is a fundamental principle of the Constitution that power is held by the people and that with regard to the most important issues affecting the country it is the people who decide directly, by referendum, and migration is an important issue of this kind”, Mr. Trócsányi said.
“Hungary is also involved in a law suit concerning the resettlement quota, but this is a separate issue in which we have disputed an earlier Council decision that also concerned the compulsory resettlement quota”, he pointed out.
“There have been and will be referendums in others countries too with relation to issues concerning the EU”, the Minister of Justice indicated.
On Tuesday, President of the Republic János Áder set the date for the referendum on the compulsory resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary for 2 October. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on 24 February that the Government was initiating a national referendum on the compulsory resettlement quota. The question put forward at the referendum will be: “Do you want the European Union to prescribe the settlement of non-Hungarian citizens into Hungary without the approval of the Hungarian Parliament?”
(Ministry of Justice)
