With the reinforcement of the legal border closure, the Government is taking another measure that serves to enhance the security of the Hungarian and European people as only controlled persons eligible for the status of refugee or protected person will be able to enter the territory of Hungary, and consequently of the European Union, the Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister said in the Sunday evening programme of the public service television news channel M1.

György Bakondi, who was asked in the interview about the fact that the Government is proposing the amendment of four laws with a view to the reinstatement of immigration detention – the law on entry and stay, the law on asylum, the law on minor offences and the law on the state borders – said: according to the proposed amendments, the newly revised legislation will not allow asylum-seekers to submit their applications and to then escape during the course of the assessment procedure. They will be required to submit their asylum requests in the transit zones, and will have to stay there to await the assessment of their applications, he added.

No matter how fast the competent authority has processed applications, "there has been a very high number of individuals who had no intention of awaiting the outcome of even this swift procedure”, and moved on immediately, he said.

Those who are currently awaiting the assessment of their applications in various facilities will also be taken back to the transit zones, the chief advisor said, adding that applicants "may (…) at any time return to the territory of Serbia” from the transit zones.

On the programme, Mr Bakondi also highlighted that migration routes are changing rapidly, "it is now an increasingly frequent occurrence that boats are heading out from Turkey for Italy, rather than for Greece”, and this may also affect Slovenia or Croatia. People smugglers continually seek out any weak points, and this is why Hungary has created a robust border protection system, he added.

János Lázár, the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office said at his press conference held on Thursday in Budapest that, pursuant to the Cabinet’s proposal, throughout the duration of the crisis situation caused by mass migration, the authorities will designate a mandatory place of residence for those who submit immigration applications to the Hungarian State.

(MTI)