Exactly seven years ago, on October 2, 2016, Hungarian voters had the opportunity to express their opinion in a national referendum on Brussels's plan to distribute illegal migrants flowing into Europe en masse according to quotas, the Center for Fundamental Rights wrote in its latest analysis. The authors recalled that
the national referendum on mandatory resettlement quotas created unprecedented unity among politically active voters.
The concept of mandatory resettlement was rejected by 98.36 percent of Hungarians who cast a valid vote, creating a national consensus point, meaning that more Hungarians voted against the quota scheme (3 362 224) than in favor of Hungary's accession to the EU in 2003 (3 056 027).
The analysis highlighted that the time that has passed since the 2016 referendum has shown that Brussels's approach adopted at the time is not operational and lacks support from member states. "In Hungary, it was the left-wing parties that supported admission and attacked border protection measures from the very beginning of the migration crisis. In the autumn of 2016, the Hungarian people relayed a message also to these actors: they made a decision that significantly contributed to strengthening the country's security, and with a consensus beyond political lines," the analysts said, noting that the Hungarians had sent a clear message: a physical border barrier was erected to curb illegal immigration, and legal steps were taken to effectively represent Hungary's national interest.
"All this has finally been heard by Europeans who are open to arguments based on common sense. As is known, Poland will hold a similar referendum soon in parallel with the parliamentary elections. The referendum seeks answer to the question, 'Do you support the admission of thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa in accordance with the mandatory relocation scheme prescribed by the European bureaucracy'," the Center for Fundamental Rights pointed out, adding that survey findings show that the vast majority of Poles, 67-76 percent, oppose the idea, while in France, the National Rally raised the possibility of initiating a referendum.
"All this indicates that the general public in Europe also seems to be growing aware of the implications. Research data reached by the Szazadveg Foundation in its Project Europe show that four-fifths of the community's citizens are particularly concerned about the influx of illegal immigrants. Moreover, the majority of the population in all regions of the EU believes that Europe must preserve its Christian culture and traditions," the Center for Fundamental Rights said. Regarding Hungary, the Nezopont Institute found that
77 per cent of the Hungarians remain opposed to the European Union sending immigrants to Hungary's territory.
Despite this, the migration pact, supplemented by new elements, continues to push for mandatory quota distribution, the study highlighted. "Because Brussels and the pro-migrant forces in power in leading EU member states have learned nothing from the past seven years and have failed to listen to the voice of the European people."
Last year, some 330,000 illegal border crossings were detected at the European Union's external borders. Since 2016, this is the highest figure, up by 64 percent compared to 2021. Another drastic spike is expected this year. The number of thwarted illegal border crossing attempts reached 130,000 in Hungary this year, and Italy was undeniably flooded with migrants. Meanwhile,
Instead of working to combat the violence caused by illegal immigrants, Brussels, Paris and Berlin have revisited quotas in the form of the EU migration pact,
and are devising how to shift the problem to those member states that have so far protected their countries successfully, the authors said.
Mass illegal migration poses a problem not only in Europe, but it is also poisoning the entire Western world, the Center For Fundamental Rights underlined in the analysis. In their view, beyond failing to do anything to protect the southern borders of the United States, the Biden administration - shifted radically to the left - appears to be deliberately stoking the migration of people across the world, by taking the economic consequences of the local war in Ukraine to a global level through the forcing of the sanctions policies that have broken global supply chains already weakened by the pandemic.
The analysis reveals that amid a worsening crisis, the Center for Fundamental Rights teamed up with analysts at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) to prepare a policy study that aims to explore the causes of mass immigration, expose the promoters of migration, the tools they use, and present the possible solutions, as well as the broader political, ideological and cultural context. "Since AFPI was set up by former members of Donald Trump's administration with the undisguised aim of preparing the legal, intellectual and political ground for President Trump's return and successful governance,
we can trust that after the next election, the study will rise, in whole or in part, to the status of official Washington policy. For this, of course, the election victory of the former president is essential,
the study underscored. The analysts recalled that in an interview with Tucker Carlson, Viktor Orban said that Donald Trump is the man we can certainly count on to help bring peace to Ukraine. "We can say that his return would be much needed to halt mass migration," the Center for Fundamental Rights wrote.
