Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that, regarding the issue of illegal immigration, we need nation state solutions rather than European solutions. On Kossuth Rádió’s “180 Minutes” programme on Friday, the Prime Minister also spoke about the enlargement of the Paks nuclear power station, and defended implementation of the project, pointing out that “cheap electricity equals Paks”.
Quotas are the craziest thing we can do
Regarding the issue of illegal immigration, the Prime Minister branded the statement that “we need European solutions” as “miracle blabber”. In his opinion we need national solutions instead of European ones, and Member States’ solutions will constitute a European solution.
With respect to mandatory resettlement quotas, Mr. Orbán confirmed that Hungary’s position is that the quota system must be blocked, because it would lead to the spreading of terrorism across Europe, “which is the craziest thing we can do”.
He also drew attention to the fact that a considerable percentage of migrants are coming from countries with which the EU is at war. An enemy’s strategy of deploying subversive groups to strike behind the lines of countries with which it is at war is a concept as old as war itself, he added.
Mr. Orbán said that the ever-widening gap between European leaders who deny the correlation between terrorism and immigration and the common sense of the European people is increasingly destabilising the continent, and boosting the popularity of radical parties. He stressed that the privilege of telling the truth must never be yielded to the radicals.
Regarding the state of national security, the Prime Minister pointed out that Hungary is not among the targets at this point in time.
In answer to a question on the cross-border return of migrants, he said that at present Hungary is not exposed to the direct threat of such returns.
Large refugee camps to be set up in Greece
In the Prime Minister’s view, migrants should be taken back to Greece, to the country where they first entered the territory of the EU. Large refugee camps should be set up in Greece, he explained, and there they should be kept under surveillance until the situation is resolved in the countries from which they came. There are some cases, however, when there is no need for a second thought, and migrants should be taken back to where they came from. He mentioned Pakistan as an example which is “a nuclear great power”, saying that while many people in Pakistan are poor, it is on the whole “an extremely rich country”.
The Prime Minister believes that the time has come to repeatedly ask fundamental questions of the European Union. He mentioned a possible review of the EU’s founding treaty.
Mr. Orbán further remarked that the Schengen Agreement is in need of modification under any circumstances, because some countries observe its terms, while others – such as Greece – do not. He said that the Hungarian people are reluctant to be party to an international agreement rigorously observed by some members, but not by others.
Cheap electricity equals Paks
In response to the European Commission launching an infringement procedure against Hungary in connection with enlargement of the Paks nuclear power station, Mr. Orbán said that the operation and enlargement of the Paks nuclear power station is Hungary’s national interest, as without this the price of electricity would increase dramatically.
“Cheap electricity equals Paks”, the Prime Minister said, confirming that Hungary is going ahead, and that operation of Paks is the number one precondition for cheap electricity in Hungary. The Hungarian Government will therefore implement the Paks project, he said.
At the same time he drew attention to the fact that in Europe recently, power stations – including the project in Finland – have not been put out to tender. He said that once again Hungary could complain about double standards, but he would rather not sulk. He would simply admit that this is a huge sum of money, and a number of Western European countries want to take part in the deal. In turn, the EU is protecting its interests, he argued, remarking that “where there is meat, there are flies”.
Regarding the Quaestor case, the Prime Minister said that after the Constitutional Court decision annulling some parts of the law on compensation for Quaestor’s customers, we should not be thinking in terms of some general compensation. The precise procedure for settlement must be formulated, which is not a simple legal and accounting question. An army of lawyers at the Ministry of Justice are working on translating the decision of the Constitutional Court into the language of a solution, and are developing a specific regime for settlement, Mr. Orbán said.