“Hungary welcomes the participation of civil society in helping to solve the challenges facing Europe, but the various roles must be differentiated, because it is undeniable that it is governments who have the greatest legitimacy”, Minister of Justice László Trócsányi said at Monday’s hearing of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE).
At the beginning of the hearing on the state of the rule of law in Hungary, Mr. Trócsányi stressed that the Government is open to dialogue and has succeeded in solving many issues through applying a constructive approach.
On the subject of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the Minister said that there are 60 thousand such organisations operating in Hungary; they are “alive and kicking” and are free to voice their opinions, and the fact that in some cases these opinions are not accepted by the Government is not equivalent to dictatorship. “There is no reason for worry with regard to the future of NGOs, the bill that is in preparation concerns only the fact that these organisations will also have to register how much money they receive from abroad”, he declared.
The Minister also spoke about the migration crisis, which in his opinion is the greatest challenge facing Europe today, and which particularly affects Hungary.
“The Government wanted to provide a determined response to the crisis; Hungary wants to protect its population and its territory, and this fully conforms to European law”, he declared.
“Public order and public safety must be guaranteed in Europe; without these there is no rule of law. Terrorism is here amongst us, we cannot know where it will strike next”, he said.
Mr. Trócsányi also stressed the importance of the Schengen system and preserving free movement within Europe without internal border controls, also adding that “we must differentiate between migrants and refugees, because economic immigrants are only coming to Europe in the hope of a better life”.