Hungary has spent some HUF 800 billion on the development of its border surveillance system, and since the European Union has not financed a single penny of this cost, filing a lawsuit to recover these expenses seems justified, Prime Minister Orban's chief homeland security advisor told public news channel M1.
Gyorgy Bakondi added that Hungary's border surveillance activities not only protect Hungarian citizens but also the citizens of countries with internal borders within the European Union. He emphasized that the Hungarian government’s stance on border protection has been firm and determined for the past ten years.
We say that only those who have been granted political asylum can enter. There can be no illegal, undocumented entries at the green border,
– Mr. Bakondi underlined.
He added that the EU's approach to immigration is to admit everyone first and then expel those who cannot be granted political asylum. However, as many migrants have no documents, authorities are unable to verify their identities, and the effectiveness of expulsion (or deportation) procedures is questionable because the individuals concerned are merely informed by letter that they must leave the country. In response to a question, Mr. Bakondi said that adopting a system whereby a quarter of all EU migration applications would have to be lodged in Hungary would essentially nullify the country’s existing border control system.
This would have an effect we already experienced in 2015: suspicious-looking individuals walking the streets, trying to get to Western Europe via Hungary,
– he added.
He recalled that the Hungarian government had polled its citizens to gauge their views before solidifying its stance, and - regardless of party affiliations - 98% of respondents rejected the admission of illegal migrants. According to Mr. Bakondi, the number of migrants arriving on the Greek islands has increased by 13 percent in the last month. The Hungary-Serbia border has also seen a surge, with authorities apprehending between 30 and 70 illegal border-crossers each day.
Although a Serbian police operation has temporarily alleviated the situation, Mr. Bakondi noted that Serbia won't be able to sustain such resources indefinitely, which could lead to the eventual return of people smugglers who used to operate along Hungary’s state border.
