Speaking about the migration crisis at a joint press conference with the Bavarian minister-president and Chairman of Germany’s conservative CSU party, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that today Bavaria’s borders are being defended by Hungary.
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The Prime Minister outlined his views on the matter at Banz Abbey (Kloster Banz) on Wednesday, after a meeting of the German conservative CSU party’s legislative group in Bavaria, and talks with Bavarian minister-president Horst Seehofer – who is also Chairman of the CSU.
The Hungarian prime minister’s proposals include encouraging Greece to hand over protection of its external borders to those European countries which are willing to take part in this effort. Mr. Orbán additionally suggests that refugees should be separated from economic migrants at points outside the borders of the Schengen Area, and that at a European level the EU should identify those countries which it regards as safe countries. With regard to the latter, he urged that EU Member States and EU candidate countries should be regarded as safe as a matter of course.
His fourth proposal is that, in order to raise sufficient funds, each Member State should increase its (EU) contributions by one per cent, while reducing other spending by one per cent. This would represent three billion euros for each per cent; this exercise should be repeated as many times as management of the crisis necessitates, he stated.
Mr. Orbán further proposed engagement in partnerships with those states without which the situation cannot be managed – specifically mentioning Turkey. At the same time, he also suggested that “relations with Russia should be placed on a new footing”.
Finally, he proposed setting up a global system of allocation – a concept which he will also raise at the UN next week. In other words, the whole world should be involved in the management of the refugee crisis.
The purpose of his package of six proposals, he said, is to inject reality into European policy.
At the press conference Mr. Orbán went on to point out that, thanks to the EU and the Schengen Agreement, the borders of Bavaria can now be defended at the external Schengen border, which today is the southern border of Hungary.
The Prime Minister said that, in some respects, he is “the captain of one of the Bavarian minister-president’s border fortresses” and, as such, “it is my duty to come here and report on the situation”.
He said that, in its historic importance and historic sweep, the current migrant crisis may determine the future of Europe, and how Europe responds to this situation is very much dependent on what response Germany chooses to give. He added that the German response will be greatly influenced by Bavaria’s position.
He argued that the Hungarian government is of the opinion that suspension of the Schengen rules is not the right solution. In his view, it is possible for processes which are currently taking place “outside the boundaries of the law” to be redirected within those legal boundaries, and this is what he is seeking support for.
In answer to a question, Mr. Orbán said that he envisaged “definitive border closure” along the Hungarian-Croatian border as well. “If we receive confirmation that we are able to enforce the laws of Hungary, to introduce a physical barrier on the green border, and to direct those wishing to enter towards the designated crossing points, we shall establish definitive border closure”, he said. He added that after the introduction of this border closure it will not be possible to cross the green border between Croatia and Hungary without consequences under criminal law.
In his words this could occur at any hour, on any day, “regardless of Croatia’s threats and blackmail”. What makes the situation more difficult, he added, is that Croatia openly transports people in their thousands to the Hungarian border: people who do not want to be registered, and who do not want to accept the basic requirement of cooperation with the authorities.
The Prime Minister also told the press that, as a result of the border fence erected on the Hungarian-Serbian border, illegal entry from Serbia has fallen to a fraction of what it was. Hungary is able to conduct asylum procedures on the border, before entry into the Schengen Area, Mr. Orbán confirmed.
“It is not for fun that we are doing what we are doing; no one likes serving in a border fortress [...] But this historic role of protecting the external borders has now fallen to Hungary”, he pointed out. If Hungary fails to do this, he said, the borders will “slide” to a position between Austria and Hungary, or between Germany and Austria.
He told the press that Hungary is prepared to take part in devising a contingent-based solution as proposed by the CSU; this would focus on accepting numbers of refugees determined by their countries of origin.
In answer to another question, the Prime Minister stated that Hungary accepts Germany’s decision, but it expressly asks Germany not to make this binding on Hungary. “There should be no moral imperialism”, he said. While Mr. Orbán said he does not challenge Germany’s right to decide on whether it to admits everyone or refuses everyone, Hungary does not want to change as a result of mass migration.
He went on to say that there is no sympathy for anyone who threatens or injures Hungarian police officers, but there is sympathy for people who have been deceived by being promised entry into the territory of the EU in return for money, or who were promised that they would be welcomed and are now being deported.
The Prime Minister said that in the present situation it is the duty of Christian individuals to help the needy; meanwhile, it is the duty of Christian politicians to help them resume their lives as soon as possible in the countries where that is now not possible, and to protect them until this is made possible. “It is there where we should create the necessary conditions and means, and we should manage the current crisis in a way which enables them to return there within the shortest possible time, as that is where they belong” the Prime Minister said.
Hungary remains opposed to the quota system for distribution of asylum seekers, but it is prepared to take part in devising a special allocation solution, Mr. Orbán said. Regarding the two proposed solutions, he remarked that they “are two different things: quota has one meaning, special allocation has another”.
The Prime Minister pointed out that while the Government continues to reject the quota system, it is prepared to take part in devising a special allocation solution which relates to the reception of a number of refugees determined by their countries of origin; he said he sees this as “a possible direction”.
Mr. Orbán will travel on from Bavaria to Brussels, where at an extraordinary summit the leaders of the European Union Member States will discuss the latest developments in the migration crisis and proposals for possible solutions. The summit of EU heads of state and government was convened by Donald Tusk, President of the European Council. The heads of state and government will meet after the interior ministers of the Member States discussed the issue of quotas on Tuesday; the interior ministers approved by a large majority a plan for distributing 120,000 refugees (with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia voting against, and Finland abstaining). The Hungarian position is that the distribution of refugees does not solve the problem, the root of which is not within the European Union but outside it; accordingly, a solution must be found outside the EU. Furthermore, Hungary completely rejects being classified as a frontline country without being consulted on the question.