PM Orban: Issue of Migration a Key Question in April Election

Questions around migration will be in the focus of Hungary's next election in April. "Will we resist and rebel against Brussels' decision or Hungary's political parties give in to Brussels' pressure, accept its decision and allow migrants to enter te country from the West?" Prime Minister Viktor Orban told public media on his flight back from Istanbul, referring to new migration rules the European Union adopted earlier on Monday.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: AFP)

Just a few hours earlier, Viktor Orban posted on Facebook that Hungary will not implement the measures contained in the migration pact. "The rebellion begins!" he stated.  Asked what he meant by "the rebellion begins" in his post, the Prime Minister said "we have a completely new situation. We have had a lot of developments concerning migration but none such as now." 

Prime Minister Viktor Orban. (Photo: NurPhoto/ Nicolas Economou)

There were times when migrants tried to break into Hungary and, through Hungary, into Western Europe. In response, we built a fence and did not let them through. We've had that. And those who somehow entered were expelled, We've also had that.Then there were times when Brussels punished us—absurdly so—because we protect Europe, yet since we do not admit migrants, we must pay a daily fine of 1 million euros. We've had that, too. But all of that we had coming from the South,

he said, adding that "what we have now is coming from the West, which opens a completely new chapter in the history of migration. There are some countries west of us that could not or would not protect themselves against migrants, and they got in. These countries are west of us. Now the EU has decided that we should take migrants in from those countries, from the west," he said.

He noted that Hungary would now not only have to protect itself from those coming from the south, but "they will be unleashed on us" from the west as well. "I have said earlier that the great question for the next generation will be how it can protect itself from the migrants who have entered Western Europe and who one day may head toward Hungary. In other words, how to protect Hungary’s western borders. This will not be easy and will put our children before a serious challenge, but that will be their task to tackle."

He explained that what we are seeing now is the first sign of this: "it is not migrants coming from Western Europe on their own accord, it is Brussels that has decided to send them here."

And if we do not take them in—we are talking about many hundreds of migrants—then we will have to pay,

he warned. He added that this is a new chapter, and regretted that there is no national concensus on the issue. "The Democratic Coalition and the Tisza Party have supported the EU's migration pact, that is they would give their consent to migrants being brought in from the West. This makes the election appear in a new light, it adds a new aspect," PM Orban said.

Concerning the actual migrant numbers and the amount Hungary could be fined PM  Orban said "the figures are chaotic but the European Commission always makes a decision on individual considerations regarding how many migrants must be taken in and when. I voted against the pact, Hungary did not support the pact, because we said precisely this would happen," he explained.

The EU will say there is a migration emergency—there has been one for years—and on that basis, this regulation grants them the right to decide. Thus, it will not be Hungary that decides whether it lets in or takes in migrants, but Brussels. And Brussels can enforce this with financial penalties," he emphasized. Viktor Orban stated:

This is why we said 'no' to the migration pact, and this is why I consider it a decision sharply opposed to Hungary's national interests that the Tisza and the Democratic Coalition supported this migration pact and have brought trouble upon us. We will resist.

Cover photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: AFP)