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The decisions which were adopted with respect to the issue of migration at the two-day EU summit held in Brussels conform to the interests of Hungary and the Hungarian people, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stressed at his Friday afternoon press conference.

The Prime Minister said that what we are experiencing today is not a mere wave of migration, but a process of mass migration which we shall have to reckon with on a longer-term basis.

From among the decisions adopted at the summit, Mr Orbán highlighted first of all that it is necessary to differentiate between refugees and economic migrants, and this distinction must be made outside the EU or in reception centres to be set up in the so-called front countries, in Italy and Greece, at the latest. The Prime Minister said that there is no reason why Hungary should be placed in the same category as these other two countries as the migrants arriving in Hungary first enter the territory of the EU at the border of Bulgaria or Greece.

The Prime Minister stressed that all migrants who are not eligible for asylum must be kept away from the borders of Europe, and also drew attention to the importance of cooperation between the EU, the countries of origin, and the transit countries concerned. Mr Orbán argued that the EU’s development policy must be used as a means to promote situations in the countries of origin so that people planning to set out for Europe should have no reason to leave their homes.

“The Hungarian delegation made it clear that state borders must be protected”, the Prime Minister pointed out, and added that this is every country’s own duty. The fact that Hungary will defend its own borders is not directed against anyone, including “our Serbian friends”.

“The only objective is to defend Hungary and the Hungarian people”, the Prime Minister emphasised.

Mr Orbán informed the press that the decision of the EU must be based on a geographically comprehensive approach because so far most of the attention has been diverted to the route traversing the Mediterranean, and the Balkans have hardly even been mentioned.

By the Prime Minister’s account, there was a keen debate on the refugee quotas. Some countries were in favour of this solution, while others took the view that this may be construed from an outsider’s point of view as an invitation to the territory of the European Community.

“We have not succeeded in closing this debate. This issue is yet to be resolved”, the Prime Minister said.

Based on the EU decision, Greece and Italy will receive assistance: the other Member States will accept 40,000 asylum-seekers from these two countries on a voluntary basis; however, Bulgaria and Hungary will be afforded special treatment.

Mr Orbán said that, while it may appear banal, they had to fight for the EU to recognise that it would be an absurd situation to send asylum-seekers to a country – Hungary – which is compelled to cope with more migrants than the countries from which they are to be sent away.

Prime Minister Orbán said it was absolutely crucial and imperative whether the admission quota should be mandatory or voluntary, but the European Council took a stance in favour of mandatory quotas in April. The Prime Minister asked the question: who should decide whom to allow into our home, our house, our country? As Mr Orbán said, this is a vested national interest which Hungary alone can decide upon.

Following this, the Prime Minister went on to say that we must face up to the fact that the EU’s asylum system, the Dublin system is not viable and should be reviewed, and while Hungary continues to apply the current regulations also in the interim, we are urging their alteration within the shortest possible time. Mr Orbán further pointed out that if every Member State were to fully observe the rules of the Dublin regime, the number of migrants coming to Hungary would radically decrease; far fewer asylum-seekers would come to Hungary, if any at all, and this should also be the case in the future.

The Prime Minister termed the news that was released this week and was later refuted – according to which Hungary would suspend the application of the Dublin Regulation – as “a linguistic accident”; he added that an issue which should have been addressed at the level of politics was dealt with at the level of public administration.

“Hungary has not repealed or suspended anything”, Mr Orbán pointed out, and reiterated: the Hungarian authorities merely requested a few days’ respite in the reception of the asylum-seekers to be turned back to Hungary because everyone is working day and night at the southern border. The Prime Minister also told the press that 11 countries had notified Hungarian authorities that they would send back 15,000 asylum-seekers originally registered in Hungary to Hungary. He further said that the Government is now seeking authorisation from Parliament to determine which countries qualify as safe countries of origin, and Greece will be one of them.

Regarding the fence to be built on the Serbian border, the Prime Minister said: the Government sees no other option but the construction of a temporary border fence. He added: he is personally heart-broken about every forint to be spent on the fence, “but security comes first”.

“We shall build the fence”, the Prime Minister stated, adding that the goal is to “curb” the flow, and if the route changes, so will the fence.

The Prime Minister pointed out: “Hungary does not border Syria”; in his opinion, there is no need to run away either from Greece, Serbia or Macedonia. From among those arriving in Hungary, it is only verifiable in 8 to 9 cases out of a 100 that the asylum-seekers concerned would be in danger if they were returned to the country from which they originally came. At the same time, Mr Orbán reiterated: if there is a country which has experienced what it is like when tens and hundreds of thousands of people run for their lives, it must be Hungary which provided shelter for everyone during the Balkans war.

Concerning Greece, the Prime Minister said that while we must speak in a tone of compassion on account of the debt burden that is currently weighing heavy on them, even in this situation we expect them to meet their obligations as in the absence of fulfilling these obligations, they create a difficult situation for Hungary.

“We are unable to pay the price of this”, the Prime Minister said, pointing out that the EU is only too willing to help; Greece has to date been given EUR 130-160 million for the purpose, while Hungary has received EUR 1-1.5 million. Mr Orbán takes the view that the difference is not entirely unjustified, “but they should then defend their borders”.