Immigrants should not be brought to Hungary; they should be taken away, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on Thursday in Brussels upon arriving at the summit of EU heads of state and government which will discuss the topic.
The Prime Minister confirmed that Hungary is opposed to the mandatory quotas relating to the distribution of refugees; he takes the view that any such idea is only conceivable on a voluntary basis.
As Mr Orbán pointed out, refugees must be helped in the spirit of Christian mercy, but against those who come here out of economic considerations, in the hope of a better life, we must defend Hungary, and we must defend the Hungarian people.
“We, too, are people of the heart, but we also have a brain, and the two must be kept in balance”, Mr Orbán said.
„We must keep our wits about us; on this matter now, we must not give in to either the temptation of fancy words, or to compassion” which we, however, always need, the Prime Minister stated at the same time.
Prime Minister Orbán said stating his opinion that it is not an achievement in itself but a natural fact that the increasing pressure that is on Hungary will be on the agenda of the summit. As Mr Orbán said, everyone now knows, also in Brussels, that migrants are arriving in the largest numbers in Hungary, more than in Italy or Greece.
“By contrast, these two countries have recently been given some EUR 160 million, while Hungary has received one and a half million”, the Prime Minister claimed, stressing at the same time that “we are not going to beg”. Mr Orbán said that we must draw attention to the data so that Hungary should be given funds in return for its efforts, and as he put it, “if they give us money, we shall naturally accept it; one can always do with a bit of help”. “But if they choose not to give us money, we shall still protect our borders”, Viktor Orbán stated.
At the same time, the Prime Minister warned that the current migration is a mass migration process which must be reckoned with in the long term. He took the view that “those who think that this is a temporary process, a mere consequence of the crisis in the Middle-East are wrong because the European welfare system, in particular, the German system, is so attractive that millions will set out in the next few years if they believe that they have a chance to enter our countries”.
“We believe that there is only one solution. Everyone must protect their own borders. If we are given help, we must do it collectively; but if not, we must do it on our own. The fact remains, however, that the borders must be protected”, the Prime Minister stated, sharing his view that the flood cannot otherwise be contained, and people in the millions will come to Europe.