Hungary stands up for the European ideal of the freedom of expression, and wants to decide for itself whether it wants immigrants or not, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated in the debate on the situation in Hungary held at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister pointed out: Hungary did not sign any agreement that would stipulate what the Hungarians may or may not talk about or consult about, and there is likewise no such provision in the treaty of accession. Hungary would therefore regard it as a violation of the treaty if anyone attempted to tell the Hungarian people what they may or may not voice their views about.
“We, Hungarians want to decide ourselves whether we want immigrants in Hungary or not”, the Prime Minister pointed out, elaborating that it is necessary to distinguish between free movement within the European Union and migration from outside, and in the context of the latter, between refugees and migrants. Mr Orbán argued that Hungary has always sheltered the persecuted, but does not wish to become a target country for migrants.
“The situation in Hungary at present is that we are unable to offer jobs to migrants”, the Prime Minister said, who believes that the Commission’s proposal which is designed to tackle the problem of migration is “nothing short of absurd, verging on the crazy”. Viktor Orbán takes the view that the question of the handling of migration should be restored to the jurisdiction of the Member States, and the proposal which suggests that asylum-seekers should be allowed in and dealt out among the Member States on the basis of quotas is crazy. Mr Orbán argued that the quotas would only encourage human traffickers.
In the context of the topic of the death penalty which was also raised at the debate, the Prime Minister said that he would not like to return to the Middle Ages when there were certain taboos that did not bear talking about. “I maintain that we must talk about the death penalty”, Mr Orbán pointed out, adding that everyone’s opinion is just the opinion of a European citizen, “it is not something sacred, it is not a dogma”.
Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission made it clear that the removal of the death penalty is a pre-condition of accession both to the Council of Europe and to the European Union, and reintstating the death penalty would be contrary to EU fundamental values and could trigger EU Treaty Article 7. At the end of the debate, the Dutch politician also responded to Mr Orbán’s words, and argued that the Commission’s plan does not propose that the EU should open its doors wide and allow economic migrants to enter, while the quota system is only warranted by the grave crisis we are facing, and would only apply to a limited number of asylum-seekers. “I beseech the Hungarian Government not to distort the Commission’s proposals”, Mr Timmermans said.
Manfred Weber, leader of the Group of the European People’s Party took the view that it is good to ask the people; however, the terminology of the Hungarian migration consultation questionnaire is bad and unacceptable. At the same time, the Government has reason to raise questions related to migration. According to the Bavarian politician, the removal of the death penalty is an achievement of our civilisation, and it is therefore harmful to talk about its re-introduction. Mr Weber also drew attention to the fact that Hungary, with its 2.8 per cent economic growth, is at present a frontrunner in Europe.
Gianni Pittella, head of the group of socialists and democrats in the European Union said that, in his opinion, Viktor Orbán has gone too far with his statements. The Italian politician takes the view that the real issue here is not an attack on democracy, but emptying democracy and making it banal.
According to Timothy Kirkhope, British keynote speaker of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, European citizens do not want the issue of fundamental rights to fall victim to political point-scoring.
The Dutch liberal Sophie In ‘t Veld found the need for monitoring the state of democracy in every EU Member State justified in the context of the issue of migration. The politician believes that we may have a debate on the death penalty, but it will be a short one: there is no place for the death penalty either in Europe, or anywhere else in the world.
Rebecca Harms, Co-Chair of the Group of Greens said: she simply could not believe her ears when she heard the term ‘death penalty’ because this would result in the termination of EU membership. At the same time, the national consultation does not contribute to the resolution of the problem but merely incites the people.
Mr Orbán said at the end of the debate that, in his view, the liberal organisational principles have failed in the economy and society, and this is what has led to the crisis. The Prime Minister further stated that Hungary had not had a problem prior to 2012 because it was able to detain the pressure of immigration according to its own rules; however, the EU forced Hungary to change its regulations. The Prime Minister takes the view that this “clearly does not work”.
The press release is available in English in the attached file.