Hungary should not be criticised for doing its duty; it should instead be left to do what it has to do, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday in Brussels, after a meeting on the migrant crisis with Martin Schultz, President of the European Parliament.
The Prime Minister requested that the EP President relay this request to the members of the European Parliament. He said that “We Hungarians are full of fear. People in Europe are full of fear, because we see that the European leaders – among them the prime ministers – are not able to control the situation”. He pointed out that the EU regulations are clear: border control is the responsibility and duty of the Member States on the external borders of the Schengen Area, and Hungary is one of those countries.
Mr. Orbán reiterated that at the summit in June a decision had been reached that the borders must be reinforced and that EU regulations must be observed. He informed Mr. Schulz that Hungary has done everything possible in this regard, its parliament will soon pass a new legislative package, and the physical barrier of the border fence also serves this purpose. “All this together can provide a new situation in Hungary and in Europe from 15 September”, the Prime Minister stressed, highlighting that everyone – including asylum-seekers, human traffickers and the neighbouring countries – will be duly informed of the new legal situation in Hungary and of the ways in which the territory of the country may and may not be entered.
After saying that he believes this will be successful, the Prime Minister said: “I can’t promise that it will be successful the next morning, but step by step, clearly Hungary will be in the driving seat to control the border, and we will be in a situation to fulfil all the regulations created by the European level for the national states.” He said that the rules are clear: no one may leave Hungary without registration. The Prime Minister pointed out that this is not a strategy, but simple compliance with the regulations.
He called it unacceptable that people are crossing the green border, “going to the railway station, shouting and shouting the names of Germany and Chancellor Merkel, and forcing the Hungarian police to let them go out of the country without registration. That is totally against the European regulations”. The Prime Minister said that this is not a European problem, but a German one, because no one would like to stay in Hungary. Everyone wants to go to Germany, but it is the duty of Hungary to register them before they try to.
Mr. Orbán took the view that the Schengen Area is already in danger, but Hungary is committed to protecting it for several reasons. On the one hand, this is a humanitarian issue because, as he said: “what is going on is a shame, it is chaotic, it is not European. The essence of being European is to keep the situation and process under control, in a civilised way – so that is what we are working for. But without having a border control it will not work. Border control is the number one issue; we can discuss quotas and other issues or whatever, but without providing a sufficient and efficient border control system, there is no sense to discuss other issues. So first things first: that is the Hungarian approach. If we are not able to provide that, that would be a danger to Schengen, because the normal reaction of the Germans and Austrians will be … ‘If you are not able to defend your outside borders, we will have to do it ourselves on a national basis’.”
Mr. Orbán pointed out that “We Hungarians, who enjoy the freedom of movement, would like to keep it and to defend it. Therefore we have to defend the borders”, adding that while we may talk about quotas for the distribution of refugees, the real problem is border control, and the issue of quotas may derail the debate. He took the view that without border control the quota system is an invitation to those who would like to come. The Prime Minister believes it would be a moral failure to create the impression that they should feel free to come and Europe can shelter everyone. This is simply not the case, he said.
The Prime Minister said that “The moral, human thing is to make clear: ‘Please don’t come. Why do you have to go from Turkey to Europe? Turkey is a safe country, stay there. It’s risky to come. We can’t guarantee that you will be accepted here. […] Serbia is a safe country. Many countries are safe between Europe and the war regions.’” He said that it is better for families and children if they stay in the safe countries that they are currently in. Regarding the border fence, he reiterated that signs on the fence will indicate where the legal border-crossing stations may be found. In answer to the question of whether Hungary will request further financial assistance for the management of the humanitarian situation, the Prime Minister stated that money was not on the agenda of his talks that day.
Martin Schulz urged a European solution to the problem, and also said that, while they agree on some points regarding the evaluation of the situation, differences are significant. “Hungary would be better off if it used a European approach, and not a national approach as it does today”, Mr. Schulz pointed out. The German Social Democrat politician urged Hungary to distinguish between immigrants arriving in the EU legally, war refugees in need of temporary protection who intend to return to their homeland once the conflict is over, and political asylum-seekers who may well become members of the future democratic governments of current dictatorships.
The EP President believes that the view that everyone wants to go to Germany, and therefore other countries should not worry, is “effective, but wrong”. He said he takes the view that it is necessary to distribute refugees on a fair and just basis. “If we distribute 500,000 refugees amongst (the EU’s population of) 507 million, it is not a problem. If you concentrate all the refugees to some of the Member States, it is a problem”, Mr. Schulz said. The EP President reiterated that the Member States offered seven billion euros to Middle Eastern countries providing refuge to millions of refugees, and now in the absence of sufficient funds many people are setting out for Europe because Jordan and Lebanon are unable to provide for them. These countries have not yet received the full amount pledged. “The European idea is an idea of solidarity. What we see for the time being is the opposite: we see a lot of egoism. This is in my eyes a real threat for the European Union”, Martin Schulz said in conclusion.