The number of asylum-seekers could increase due to the epidemic; many will set out from countries where there were severe economic and social hardships even before the appearance of the coronavirus, the Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister said on Wednesday on the public service television news channel M1.

György Bakondi stressed that mass flows of migration could set out from these countries due to the inadequate conditions in health care and the severe economic consequences that will emerge in the wake of the epidemic.

The chief security advisor also said, due to a dynamic change in the civil war situation in Libya, the main point of departure for Italy has shifted from Libya to Tunisia and Algeria, with many migrants already on the way.

People smuggling organisations have reduced or stopped their operations as due to the epidemic, European states, including the countries lying on the Balkans route have imposed major travel restrictions, in the wake of which migrants have been transferred to closed holding facilities, Mr Bakondi said.

Also according to the projection of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the pressure of migration upon Europe could intensify in the medium term.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister / MTI)