The Hungarian Government is determined to continue to pursue its current migration policy, does not want consequences such as those experienced in London, and this is why it will ask the Hungarian people once again as part of a national consultation as to what their opinion on the matter is, the Prime Minister’s senior advisor for internal security said at a press conference.
György Bakondi said that Hungary’s migration policy continues to remain exposed to attacks launched with varying degrees of intensity, but the Government will stand by it.
We do not want grave consequences such as those that occurred in London, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Nice or Cologne, he said.
He added: the Hungarian Government does not allow the aggressive and uncontrolled influx of masses at the country’s borders. Instead, it seeks to uphold public order and public security, and the latest measures, too, are aimed at this. Mr Bakondi also confirmed the Government’s position in that Hungary likewise does not want a central mass distribution and resettlement scheme without an upper limit.
The Prime Minister announced in Parliament on 20 February that a national consultation will be launched with respect to the five sources of threat which Hungary is compelled to face this year. Mr Orbán mentioned the issue of illegal immigration among these.
Mr Bakondi said: they would like the largest possible number of people to take part in the national consultation, and to state their opinions on key issues so that the Hungarian Government should have adequate support at the EU and other international forums when its policies are being attacked.
According to the internal security advisor, holding another national consultation on this topic is justified also on account of the fact that major changes have taken place world-wide as well as in Europe since the last one. He mentioned among these that one may observe a change in the number and composition of migrants.
By his account, minimum one and a half million more people have come to Europe. In 2015, the nationals of 104 countries transited Hungary alone, among them people from the Syrian and Iraqi regions in the largest numbers. Since then, primarily Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sub-Saharan Africa have become the dominant countries and regions of origin.
Among the changes, he also mentioned that the nation states, too, have begun their defence efforts throughout Europe through the reinstatement of internal border controls, the reinforcement of their police forces, legislative amendments, the strengthening of secret service agencies, and the development of counter-terrorism cooperation.
He also informed the press that EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos is expected to pay a visit to Hungary on Tuesday, and will meet with Interior Minister Sándor Pintér. In answer to a question, Mr Bakondi said that the Commissioner will seek to be informed about the new Hungarian legal rules that will enter into force on Tuesday. He also reiterated that the Commissioner earlier spoke about the possible institution of an infringement procedure against Hungary.
The internal security advisor pointed out that the Hungarian Government insists on the latest legislative amendments, and if Brussels continues to uphold the views that they „relayed in the form of messages in the media”, they have quite evidently not learnt a great deal from what has happened since 2015. He also said that the Hungarian Government does not have a problem with lawfully operating civil-society organisations, but it does have a problem with organisations that utterly disregard Hungarian interests.
(MTI)
