“Those who are overwhelmed cannot offer shelter to anyone”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote in a guest letter for German conservative daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), parts of which FAZ published on its website on Wednesday.

In the letter, the Prime Minister warns that ”explosive consequences” threaten the whole of Europe, and he defends the construction of Hungary’s temporary border fence.

According to Mr. Orbán, the European Union is pursuing a “misguided immigration policy” and “Irresponsibility is the mark of every European politician who holds out the promise of a better life to immigrants and encourages them to leave everything behind and risk their lives in setting out for Europe”.

He pointed out that the protection of external borders is essential. “This is why the fence which we Hungarians are building is important. We are not doing this for fun, but because it is needed”, the Prime Minister noted.

He added: “The fact that no one apart from Hungary and Spain wants to defend Europe’s borders is quite depressing”.

According to the preview of his guest letter on the FAZ website, Mr. Orbán emphasised that “People want us Europeans to be masters of the situation and to defend our borders” and called it worrying that the idea of Europe could become a minority interest in its own continent.

The Prime Minister also raised the question of whether it is not worrying in itself that “European culture is now barely able to keep Europe in its Christian value system”.

The press release is available in English in the attached file.

Anbei finden Sie die Pressemitteilung in Deutscher Sprache.

(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)