“The reinforcement of our lines of defence is still justified, there is a government decision to this end and the prognoses do not show any circumstance that indicates a possible reduction in the number of attempts to illegally cross the border”, György Bakondi said.

Speaking on Kossuth Radio’s “Sunday Paper” program, the Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister said: “The border security fences must be capable of protecting against greater pressure than today and we are looking for a technical solution that enables a reduction in the number of people involved in guarding the border”.

He also said that in view of the extremely cold weather police and military personnel on duty at the border are receiving extra equipment and are being relieved more often; for instance people on duty in guard towers are allowed to enter warm-up tents every fifteen minutes if necessary. Mr. Bakondi also noted that the extreme cold has not led to a significant decrease in the number of migrants.

In reply to a question, the Chief Security Advisor said: “The opinion of Europe’s population has changed significantly with regard to migration, and this has reached the political level as a result of which practically every European country has begun to act more strictly and has tightened its border security”.

Mr. Bakondi expressed his hope that 2017 would be the year of turnaround, and common sense and European security criteria will be enforced more effectively than before.

“As it has so far, the Hungarian Government will this year continue to consistently represent the standpoint that the primary task is to protect the EU’S external borders, illegal immigrants must be transported out of the European Union and new arrivals should have their asylum requests examined in hotspots that are established outside the territory of the EU”, he said, adding that “we must achieve a change in EU regulations to this effect”.

“The assaults on New Year’s Eve in Germany, Austria and Sweden, and the act of terrorism that occurred in Turkey at the same time, confirm that there is a close correlation between the arrival of uncontrolled migrants and a reduction in domestic security, and everything possible must be done to prevents these”, Mr. Bakondi said.

(MTI)