PM Orban: Migration Is Pulling Europe Apart

Migration is a problem that threatens to pull Europe apart, PM Viktor Orban warned at the Cernobbio Forum in Italy. During a panel discussion, he argued that countries unwilling to follow a unified migration policy should be given a chance to opt out. He noted that at the onset of the migrant crisis in 2015, deaths from terrorist attacks surged tenfold compared to the previous three years combined. Since then, Islamist attacks have become increasingly common in Western Europe, with rape, murder, and extremist threats becoming a routine consequence of uncontrolled immigration.

PM Viktor Orban at the Cernobbio Forum in Italy (Photo: AFP)

"If we are forced to unite on issues where we disagree, it will tear the European Union apart. Migration is one such issue, and it's pulling us apart," Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at this year's Cernobbio Forum in Italy, which is now in its fiftieth year.

PM Orban pointed out that it has become a serious problem in Italy and other countries where, after allowing many migrants in, locals are struggling to coexist with them.

However, there are countries that have never gone down this road. We have never let them in, so we have no migrants at all—zero,

– PM Orban emphasized. He added, "Our problem is not how to live with them, but how to prevent them from entering our country. "These are two different issues, and these two distinct challenges cannot be addressed with the same political tool," he continued.

It would be much better on the issue of migration to allow opt-outs for countries that do not want to follow the common migration policy. It’s better to give them a chance to opt out than to force them into a unified policy, which risks tearing Europe’s structure apart through conflict,

– Mr. Orban stressed. He told the forum that there was consensus on the fundamental values of Europe and that no one was disputing those. "There is a basic treaty that clearly outlines the European Union's core values," he said.

However, there is disagreement on existential issues, where we see things differently,

– Mr. Orban stated.

Heated debate

Mandiner highlighted that the host challenged PM Orban several times during the panel discussion, arguing that migration will be necessary in the future. The host interrupted Hungary's prime minister on numerous occasions, but Mr. Orban responded with a quick rejoinder, noting that he hoped it was acceptable for the host to hear opinions that deviated from the mainstream.

Who is to say whether migration is necessary? Who? Brussels or you? Why should we be forced into this? Such decisions should be made at the national level, in line with the concept of national sovereignty,

– PM Orban responded with a counter-question, stressing that there can be no joint decision on this issue and that the two different problems cannot be addressed by a single political solution.

"If a country says that migration is too dangerous for it and that we don’t want this new society because there are too many risks, why shouldn’t it have the right to say no?" PM Orban asked.

Who says, and who decides, that a country must let in migrants for economic reasons? That right belongs to the people and their elected leaders, not to the imperial headquarters of some integrationist power,

– he added. 

Neither Hungary, nor Brussels is giving in

The conflict between Hungary and the EU over migration policy has persisted for several years. In December 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Hungary had failed to comply with EU law, particularly in the areas of granting international protection and managing the return of illegally staying third-country nationals. The dispute reached a climax in June this year when the EU's top court imposed a heavy fine of €200 million, or nearly 80 billion forints, on Hungary.

Earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Orban decribed the court's decision as "outrageous and unacceptable." In response, the Hungarian government announced that Brussels owed Hungary HUF 800 billion - the amount the country had spent on border protection over the past ten years. As Magyar Nemzet highlighted, this sum was essential for Hungary to protect its borders, which also serve as the external borders of the EU, and to prevent illegal entries through force and organized crime.

The #ECJ’s decision to fine #Hungary with 200M euros plus 1M euros daily(!!!) for defending the borders of the European Union is outrageous and unacceptable. It seems that illegal #migrants are more important to the Brussels bureaucrats than their own European citizens.

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) June 13, 2024

A new wave of terror is sweeping across Europe

The issue of terrorism is increasingly shaping Europe's political landscape. Recently, Germany was rocked by a knife attack claimed by the Islamic State, where a man went on an indiscriminate killing spree at a city event in Solingen.

Shortly before, a well-known German political activist critical of Islam was brutally attacked with a knife in the center of Mannheim. He was about to speak at a rally when a man, reportedly shouting "Allah-u Akbar!" - meaning "Allah is the greatest" - attacked him. A police officer at the scene was so seriously injured in the assault that he later died in the hospital.

Brussels seems to have forgotten how many deaths and serious injuries have been caused over the past 8–10 years by the mass and indiscriminate admission of migrants at the EU's external borders. Now, under new policies, it may become even easier for terrorists to infiltrate EU countries. Nothing illustrates this better than the fact that, in terms of arrests, Islamic terrorism remained the biggest threat to national security across Europe last year.

Cover photo: PM Viktor Orban at the Cernobbio Forum in Italy (Photo: AFP)