Hungary cannot give refuge to people leaving their homes for economic reasons, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday.

He told public television M1 after attending a memorial march for the victims of the Paris terror attack that it is now necessary to talk about immigration and related issues more sincerely and in a straightforward manner.

He expressed his hope that a composed and calm analysis of recent events will point European leaders and Brussels in the direction of introducing stricter policies on immigration in Europe.

Those that leave their countries for political reasons, to save their lives, should be given shelter but Hungary cannot give refuge to economic migrants, he underlined.

He also said that compared to other European countries, there are few people with cultural backgrounds different from ours in Hungary and these few have found their place in Hungarian society. 

We would like to prevent Hungary becoming a target of immigrants, he said.

Commenting on the memorial event held in Paris he praised France’s national unity and unconditional solidarity and the fact that in crises people stand up to demonstrate power and protect French democracy.

(Prime Minister's Office)