We can expect ever increasing migration pressure at the Southern border; with the improvement of the weather, ever more people will be arriving in an ever more organised fashion, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday in Röszke where, in the company of Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, he viewed the border fence.

In a press statement, the Prime Minister highlighted that in Röszke Hungary is protecting not only the Hungarian border, but also the borders of Slovakia. This is a difficult task which would be hard to perform without assistance and allies, he said, thanking Slovakia for its support.

He took the view that the images published in the international press do not reflect reality: 95 per cent of migrants are men of active military age. In Europe one is not allowed to say so, but this is “an organised invasion,” Mr Orbán stated.

He said he had invited his Slovak counterpart to inspect the border because the situation had changed recently and the number of prohibited border-crossings had increased drastically. This year, there have been more than five thousand such attempts, and organised groups have also arrived, in additional to individual attempts. Today, a hundred thousand migrants would like to enter Europe, they are on the Balkans route, and if they were allowed, they would enter Hungary and Slovakia, he stated.

Mr Orbán said Hungary is grateful to the government and prime minister of Slovakia because it has always received the necessary assistance from them; the Slovak police, too, have done an important job. The parties have now confirmed their agreement, and based on this if the pressure at the border intensifies again, Hungary can count on Slovakia’s help, he said, adding that it is possible to build a common future upon the foundations of this amicable cooperation.

In answer to a question, the Prime Minister said the border is not closed. If anyone wants to enter the territory of Hungary, “knocks on the door” and tells the authorities what they want, they will take minutes and conduct the relevant procedure. Those who opt for this alternative are required to wait in the transit zone until the conclusion of the legal procedure, during which period they receive all the care they need. If their application is granted, they may enter the country. In a case to the contrary, they are required to leave the transit zone which is closed towards Hungary and is open in the direction of Serbia, he explained.

He said “if everybody behaved like this, life would be easy”. However, the majority do not opt for this alternative; instead, they opt for illegal entry. Recently, entire groups have attacked the fence, and this year for the first time members of the police have been required to fire warning shots into the air, he recalled.

The Prime Minister observed that those who enter Hungary illegally will be apprehended by the police.

He also said that there is good cooperation with Serbia which is in a difficult situation; however, with fair cooperation, they can manage the situation together.

Mr Orbán highlighted that the secret services continuously monitor events; they observe the organisation of the movement of migrants who are backed by “para-people smuggling organisations referred to as NGOs” with lots of money and significant logistic capabilities. Most conflicts occur with organised groups, he added.

In answer to a question, he said Brussels is not giving us a penny for the fence because “we are on a blacklist”. Hungary was the first to build a fence, and therefore “we are the number one culprit,” he said.

Peter Pellegrini stressed that this border section is also the Southern border of the Schengen Area, and protecting it is therefore especially important. It would be dangerous if migrants broke through here; this could cause major problems for Slovakia as well, he said.

He said Slovakia is taking care of protecting its Eastern border with Ukraine; however, in the Southern direction it needs Hungary’s assistance. With the improvement of the weather, ever more migrants are indeed arriving, and they are apprehending more of them, brought in by people smugglers, in the territory of Slovakia as well, he pointed out.

He highlighted that Slovakia continues to remain ready to maintain border controls with adequate forces in order to keep migrants out.

The Slovak Prime Minister said bilateral relations are amicable in every area, and the two countries are partners also in border protection.

(MTI)