Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár has said that Europe and Hungary must prepare for further millions of people setting off for Europe. We need sustainable long-term measures, he emphasised. He also emphasised that approximately ninety per cent of migrants arriving at the Hungarian border are doing so through organised acts of human smuggling, the Minister explained.
At a joint meeting of the National Assembly’s Committees on National Security and Defence and Law Enforcement held on Tuesday, the Minister stressed that the situations in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Balkans make it obvious that what is needed are not one-off measures. A wave of long-term mass migration has hit Europe, he added.
Minister Lázár said that it is the policies of the past ten years which have led to this situation: the leftist approach of the European Commission, according to which anybody should be allowed into the territory of the European Union. Mr. Lázár said that the EU has failed to manage the situation, and the problem is the EU itself, which is incapable of protecting its own borders.
The Government’s stance is that people may only enter the country with the proper controls; this is not an option, this our duty, the Minister stated.
He emphasised that Hungary is complying with EU and Schengen regulations in all respects, and this statement was also confirmed by Minister of Justice László Trócsányi and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Interior Károly Kontrát. Despite this fact, however, Hungary has recently received criticism from a number of sources, while Austria was allowed to decide on reintroducing border controls inside the Schengen area within one day, Mr. Lázár said. “The unclear communication from Germany had also played a part in the catastrophic events of recent days”, he added.
In response to a claim by Tímea Szabó, a representative of the opposition party PM, that Austria has not reintroduced border controls, Mr. Lázár read out an official document, in which Austria not only confirms reestablishment of border controls, but also that it will slow down – or even cease – asylum procedures and will rely on its army for technical assistance.
In reply to a question from a parliamentary representative, Mr. Lázár said that the “incapability and indecisiveness” of the European Union is an invitation for all economic migrants to misuse the EU’s asylum system. According to the Minister, it is obvious that human traffickers are riding this wave of migration, one of the targets of which is Hungary.
The Minister stated that recently representatives of the Hungarian government have attended a number of EU forums, in which – together with representatives of other “frontline” countries – they have asked “when the European Union will wake up and act to put a halt to this wave of migration”.
He drew attention to the fact that the whole process “has undergone an evolutionary development”, which was started by Germany and Austria announcing that they would return twenty thousand migrants to Hungary.
Mr. Lázár also recalled that certain European leaders have recently talked about returning as many as one hundred thousand immigrants who have falsely declared themselves to be Syrians; these people would be sent back to the countries where they were first registered – one of which is Hungary.
He also emphasised that the issues of border protection and humanitarian aid must be dealt with separately. He said that those who file their asylum requests will be dealt with by the Hungarian state. The majority, however, do not wait for their claims to be processed, but leave the country immediately after filing their requests.
Neighbouring countries – as well as the Visegrád countries – acknowledge Hungary’s actions, the Minister said. He added that within the coming days Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will hold talks with the President of the European Parliament. He also said that he had not expected the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) to acknowledge any of the Government’s measures.
Mr. Lázár said that, together with Speaker of Parliament László Kövér, he had initiated the meeting of the responsible committees. Furthermore, he has also requested that Parliament discuss the proposed legal amendments serving to further reinforce protection of the country’s southern borders.
The Minister said that all the completed and planned measures on the country’s southern border – such as the construction of a temporary border barrier, the reinforcement of police border patrols, the possibility of relying on the army’s support and stricter regulations – will together be sufficient to reduce the migration pressure on Hungary.
At the almost four-hour-long meeting, the Minister also said that there are signs that we will have to face a deteriorating security situation in Ukraine. He explained that the situation is not expected to stabilise in the autumn, but, on the contrary, “may deteriorate”. In this event the Government is ready to protect all Hungarian citizens within and beyond Hungary’s borders. He added that Hungary offers its help not only to dual citizens, but to all people of Hungarian nationality.
(Prime Minister's Office, MTI)
