As long as the present government is in office and Viktor Orbán is Prime Minister, the country’s sovereignty and internal security are guaranteed, György Bakondi, Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister stated in an interview given to the newspaper Magyar Hírlap. The chief advisor believes that at this point in time there is no need for extending the fence in the direction of Romania.

In answer to the question as to whether the national consultation could have any effect on the EU’s asylum policy, Mr Bakondi said: there is no doubt that such an overwhelmingly concordant expression of views – that is not merely based on opinion polls – helps and also binds the Hungarian Government in its efforts to resist the exertion of political pressure. Additionally, both European decision-makers and Hungarian left-wing and liberal politicians would make a mockery of democracy if they disregarded the will of the electorate. The next EU summit will take place in March, but until then we shall have a great many battles to engage in with those who seek to influence the situation in Hungary, in particular, the outcome of the upcoming elections, he highlighted.

He said that since March 2017 12,398 individuals have attempted to cross the border on the southern border section. Police officers and members of the military prevented immigrants from crossing the fence in 6,391 instances, while they accompanied 6,007 individuals back to the other side of the fence. Based on the asylum applications submitted in the transit zone, 1,220 individuals have been granted international protection in total, and criminal procedures have been instituted against one hundred and thirty-seven persons due to people smuggling.

The chief advisor also highlighted in the interview that the Romanian authorities are engaged in intensive border guarding activities on the Serbian-Romanian border section also at present, and it is important that Serbia takes back the migrants apprehended by them. There is also good cooperation on the Hungarian-Romanian border where if migrants succeed in crossing the border, they are apprehended by the Hungarian authorities and are returned to Romania. Therefore at this point in time there is no need for any intervention in the border controls regime. If, however, the migration route in question becomes a main route on a long-term basis, the construction of a system of technical obstacles may begin in consultation with the Romanian authorities, Mr Bakondi said.

(MTI)