“The new unity that came about at Sunday’s quota referendum, the community of over three million people who voted No to mandatory relocation, and the Government is bound by it, which has both domestic and international tasks following the referendum”, the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary State Secretary Csaba Dömötör said.
“Based on the 98 percent majority of No votes, the Government is putting a bill for constitutional amendment before Parliament, while at international level Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent an official letter informing President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker of the result of the referendum and the planned constitutional amendment, highlighting the fact that it will be in full harmony with EU law. On Friday, the Prime Minister will meet with Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union”, the State Secretary explained.
The referendum is not the end of a process, but “we are at the beginning of a story”, firstly because migration pressure is expected to continue in future.
The German Development Minister has also stated that a dramatic level of migration could set off from Africa – and secondly because despite the clear result of the referendum Brussels has not withdrawn the quota package, and in fact it could soon be put on the agenda of the European Parliament (EP), Mr. Dömötör said. The EP will be holding a hearing on the issue as early as next Monday, he pointed out.
The State Secretary stressed: The Government will be applying all possible means to ensure that Brussels repeals its decisions on relocation, to which “the government has an obligation in view of the votes of 3.3 million people, the new unity”.
In reply to a question on whether prior to the referendum there were any public opinion polls or surveys that were “concealed” from Prime Minister Orbán, Mr. Dömötör replied: All existing surveys were available to the members of the Cabinet.
In reply to another question from the press, the Parliamentary State Secretary told reporters that the National Security Cabinet would be putting on its agenda the case involving the fact that a Hungarian organised crime network had purchased some two hundred thousand pre-paid SIM cards from Magyar Telecom in the name of a homeless person and some of these cards may have found their way to the members of the terrorist cell who committed the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks. The National Security Cabinet will examine whether there is a “security hole” in the pre-paid phone card system that could be exploited by terrorists, he said.
In reply to a question involving the fact that the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union has disclosed the fact that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ordered the investigation of the Norway Grants by the Government Control Office (KEHI) two years ago, Mr. Dömötör said that this kind of KEHI investigation can fundamentally only be ordered on the basis of a government decision or at the request of the Prime Minister or the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office. “The reason the state maintains auditing authorities is so that they can investigate the spending of public monies and the legitimate operations of certain organisations”, he added.
Citing the independence of the Central Bank, the State Secretary reacted to press reports that Governor of the National Bank György Matolcsy is using an apartment in Budapest’s Castle District owned by President and CEO of UniCredit Bank Hungary Cls. and President of the Hungarian Banking Association Mihály Patai. Mr. Dömötör said he was sure that the apartment in no way affects the professional activities of Mr. Matolcsy.