In Parliament on Monday, when seeking parliamentary authorisation for the deployment of the military, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the police are able to protect the Serbian border; however, Hungary also needs to use the army for the protection of the Croatian and Slovenian sections of border.
Responding to the positions of the parliamentary groups voiced after his address before the start of daily business, the Prime Minister argued that the security fence on the Serbian green border is working; while earlier estimates predicted a fall in the number of illegal migrants to one sixth or one seventh of previous figures, in fact there has been a much more significant decrease. Yet we are unable to protect both the Serbian and Croatian borders together without the defence forces, Mr. Orbán stressed, pointing out that the joint patrolling of the borders is a must.
He told opposition Members of Parliament who rejected a debate on the proposal on the deployment of the defence forces in an urgent motion in the extraordinary parliamentary session: those who refused to grant the necessary authorisation but now call us to account on effectiveness are “hypocrites and pharisees”. Reasoning in favour of the introduction of more stringent regulations, Mr. Orbán said that an acceptable and realistic framework must be created for the management of the situation, but Hungary is unable to provide the solution – an end to the flood of migrants – as this needs the participation of the entire international community.
Regarding the care provided for migrants, he said that those who are prepared to cooperate, go to reception centres and have themselves registered are given medical care, shelter, food and drink. He added that volunteers from civil society organisations – who have received significant financial aid – “have gone well beyond” providing these basic services, and have significantly surpassed the obligations prescribed.
The Prime Minister further pointed out that the relevant international refugee conventions clearly stipulate that refugees are not free to choose the country to which they wish to go, and no one is obliged to receive economic migrants. He reiterated that the regular procedure is that migrants are required to cooperate with the authorities, to go to reception centres where they are given security and care, and there to await the announcement of international quotas. However, people who set out for the wide world and are not happy with the countries which happen to be on their route are in no way covered by regulations on refugees. No one should call us to account on this score, he said.
Mr. Orbán expects that there will not be a “winter break” in migration; we should instead expect increased pressure. Regarding the plan to deport people back to Hungary, the Prime Minister saw the prospect of a major debate, referring to the fact that the individuals concerned first entered the European Union in Greece, but the Greeks failed to register them. When it comes to the fulfilment of obligations, no one can use to their own unlawful conduct as a model, he highlighted.
The Prime Minister also mentioned that the protection of the Schengen borders is likewise not optional, but an obligation. Either everyone observes the rules, or the rules must be amended based on the joint will of the parties, he added, pointing out that several European leaders have referred to the observance of the rules as an overly burdensome obligation. This is, in fact, an admission of a lack of competence in governance. We believe that this is a manageable task, Mr. Orbán said. The Prime Minister further stated that Hungary is opposed to the quota system, and instead urges the development of a legal framework for joint border protection.
He added that the EU might adopt a bad decision which becomes a binding regulation as early as this week. In this case, he said, Parliament and its EU affairs committee will have to determine what we should do if the system that we were opposed to, fought against all along and voted against becomes a binding regulation which we must comply with. The Prime Minister raised the question of how Hungary should respond in practical terms.
In Mr. Orbán’s evaluation, there are people in Europe who believe that change is a good thing, who believe it to be a positive outcome if large Muslim communities and parallel societies come into being. They have the right to wish for that. Whether this is good, or bad, we do not want it, he pointed out. He spoke in favour of the firm Hungarian position, by saying that the Hungarian people did not authorise the Government “to tolerate such changes”.