In an interview during his visit to Madrid broadcast in the early hours of Friday morning on Spanish television channel Intereconomía TV, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that multiculturalism is creating parallel societies in Europe, and this may call into question the values which are regarded as the pillars of the European way of life.
Parallel societies mean that all the pillars of the European way of life – freedom of speech and religion, equality before the law and gender equality – may be called into question. This is why he does not support parallel societies, the Prime Minister stated. He argued that if the people arriving in Europe retain their own communities based on different values, co-existence will lead to Europeans also having to accept these values sooner or later. Therefore, he said, the only way is not to let them enter, and not to allow them to create parallel societies.
The Hungarian prime minister takes the view that Europe must preserve its values, and if it takes its traditions and Christian roots seriously, it will be able to once more prosper and become a great continent. At the same time, he said it is a grave error that an affirmation of Europe’s Christian roots is not laid down in the European Union’s fundamental documents. He asked how it is possible to protect these roots without such a statement.
He added that the migration crisis is a good opportunity to make clear that the European way of life is based on Christian values.
Mr. Orbán further pointed out that “if someone wants to live together with us, they must first reveal who they actually are and what their intentions are, and all these issues must be clarified”.
But this is not what is happening now, he continued: we do not know who these people are, what their plans are, how they wish to maintain their own ideals, and we do not know if they will respect our culture and laws. This is an unregulated, uncontrolled process, the definition of which is invasion, he stressed.
Mr. Orbán said that the debates related to migration are sometimes not logical, as the issue has multiple dimensions. The first one regarding the kind of Europe we would like is about parallel societies. The second one is the democratic dimension, namely the fact that no one voted on what is happening right now: no one voted for the arrival of millions of migrants. The third dimension is how to manage the crisis and what we should do with those who are arriving in Europe.
He stressed that in order to be able to freely move within the Schengen Area, we must protect the external borders. Greece and Italy must set up hot spots (EU registration points), and refugees and economic migrants must be separated from each other. This would be an enormous step forward, the Hungarian Prime Minister emphasised.