“The number of migrants arriving in Hungary is increasing despite the greatest possible protective measures”, Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said on M1 Hungarian Television’s Thursday evening current affairs program.
Three thousand people have arrived in Hungary so far this year over a period of two months, he indicated. According to Mr. Kovács, the increase in the number of migrants does not bode well for the future.
On the wave of migration affecting Europe, he said if the EU immediately began implementing measures to slow migration it would probably take at least two months before any real change took effect.
Also mentioned on the program was the fact that Romanian President Klaus Iohannis had rescinded the Romanian state award bestowed on Hungarian reformed pastor and politician László Tőkés. Mr. Kovács said it was strange that something like this could happen in the early 21st century to a man who is an emblematic public figure to both the people of Romania and Hungary. It is unfortunate for someone to be stripped of a state decoration that is important to both Hungarians and Romanians simply because of his opinion, he said.
László Tőkés was made a Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania in 2009 for his historic contribution to beginning the 1989 Romanian Revolution and regime change. Former Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta requested that he be stripped of the award in 2013 after László Tőkés, as a Member of the European Parliament, suggested that Hungary act as a “protective power” in the interests of Transylvania.