The Government says no to one of the most important parts of the „Soros Plan”, the one that suggests that Europe should take in one million immigrants annually, Csaba Dömötör, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister stated.
The Government rejects this plan in the most decisive possible terms as we would not like Hungary to become an immigrant country. We accept if other countries choose this path, but we would not like to have this path imposed on us, he added.
Mr Dömötör said: before the launch of the national consultation on the „Soros Plan”, the Cabinet will disclose to the public the most important elements of the billionaire businessman’s proposal.
According to the Government’s position, immigration is not an opportunity, but a risk, and therefore we must concentrate on the protection of the borders, rather than on letting in people in unlimited numbers, Mr Dömötör said.
He added: as it has become evident in recent months and years that in this struggle the Government cannot rely on the opposition parties, the Government is now turning once again to Hungarian citizens in order to ask for their opinion and support with future action.
Mr Dömötör argued that György Soros had introduced its concepts in multiple instalments, and had also committed them to writing.
The billionaire even published his proposal to this effect on the website Project Syndicate, the State Secretary added.
Upon presenting his proposal relating to the resettlement of migrants in the millions, the businessman argued that this would be a solution to the shortage of workforce and demographic problems in Europe. By contrast, the Government does not wish to solve these problems through immigration, but by providing even more support and help for families and by reinforcing them, the politician stated who took the view that the billionaire’s proposals cannot be ignored and left without a response for several reasons, one of them being, he said, that these ideas „are falling on very fertile soil” in the institutions of the European Union and „lead to flawed decisions”.
He mentioned as an example that the European Commissioner responsible for immigration said that Europe will need 70 million immigrants in the next two decades. He said in March that this means some 6 million immigrants in the shorter term, Mr Dömötör pointed out.
He added: this idea is also reflected in the position of the European Parliament. The European Parliament urged the setting up of legal immigration routes in a decision adopted in April.
Mr Dömötör said: „it had been unprecedented for centuries that Europe should leave its doors and borders wide open. We for our part accept if others see this as an opportunity, but they should not expect Hungary to take all the cultural, economic and security risks and implications of this upon itself.”
These issues will therefore be at the top of the agenda in the consultation to be launched shortly, he said.
In answer to questions, Mr Dömötör highlighted: they wish to start the national consultation as soon as possible, and the magnitude of the costs involved will be similar to that of earlier consultations. At the same time, as he remarked, this also depends on how many people will take part in the consultation.
The necessary funds are available, there is no need for raising further funds, he said.
Mr Dömötör pointed out: if several million people state a concordant opinion, it imposes an obligation on every political actor in Hungary.
He further highlighted that Hungary „is now under enormous political pressure. They are trying to force the mandatory quotas, among others, down our throats with different means: with legal means, the relevant court ruling, and many even tie the EU funds to the introduction of the quota programme”.
Mr Dömötör stressed: if people in large numbers participated in the consultation and said no to the Soros proposals, that would be a fitting response.