György Bakondi, Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, has said that in 2016 the pace of migration has slowed in comparison to the previous year.
At his Monday press conference, Mr. Bakondi said that the slowing trend can be attributed to the closure of the Balkan route, the EU-Turkey deal and nation states’ protection mechanisms.
Mr. Bakondi said that the measures first initiated and then introduced by Hungary – including strict border protection and the construction of the security border barrier – are receiving increasing acknowledgement in the EU.
Since the new legislation entered into force on 5 June, 17,800 illegal migrants have arrived, and authorities have prevented 9,700 people from crossing the border illegally. This year some 29,200 asylum requests have been recorded: 427 people have received protected status and 4,360 requests have been rejected. The majority of those who submitted asylum requests were of Afghan, Syrian, Pakistani, Iraqi and Iranian citizenship.
In Hungary, some 20,000 police officers and 6,000 soldiers have taken part in border protection duties. The establishment of border patrol units is also progressing at a suitable pace, Mr. Bakondi added.
Between the end of August and 16 December 2016, a total of 24,910 applications for border patrol duties have been recorded, some 900 people have enrolled on training courses, and at present a further 680 new applications are being evaluated.
In relation to the European situation, the Chief Security Advisor said that a complicated situation has developed in Greece and Italy – the latter shifting from being a transit country to becoming a target country, due to the border protection measures of neighbouring countries. He added that in both countries some 318,000 people have arrived, while in Germany – where last year one million people arrived – authorities have recorded 305,000 this year. Some 4,900 people have died or been lost at sea.
Replying to a question from Hungarian news agency MTI, Mr. Bakondi said that there is currently no information which might indicate a direct threat to Hungary during the Christmas holiday season.
(MTI)
