„Act, Don't Surrender!”

On the issue of illegal immigration we must act, rather than surrender, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the public radio before leaving to the EU summit in Bratislava. If one asks whether the masses of people heading for Europe can be stopped with physical barriers and military measures, the answer is yes, Mr Orbán explained, adding that it would be the best for Hungary if the migrants were stopped as far south as possible. The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of cooperation with the countries of the Balkans.

There are people with good intentions in Brussels, he said, but they are naive, and in a difficult situation like this, naivety can backfire. According to the Prime Minister it's a nihilistic approach to say that we cannot stop them anyway, so we should start considering how to take them in.

The migration crisis is an issue, he continued, in which it is absolutely obvious that “the concept of ‘more Europe’ is unhelpful; the solution lies in helping every nation state discharge the obligation to protect its borders which it undertook in the Schengen Agreement”. At present, however, the exact reverse is the case, he said, because Brussels wants to take away nation states’ powers related to migrants.

Regarding the migrant quota referendum on 2 October, he said that “the stakes are high”, because if the mandatory relocation scheme is implemented, “money will be taken away from us, and money will need to be given to the migrants coming here”, who will be distributed among countries and settlements. He remarked that this is also a threat for Hungary’s settlements with left-wing leaderships.