Budapest, September 1 (MTI) – Hungary firmly rejects any accusation that suggests that its actions concerning the issue of migrants are wanting, a foreign ministry official said on Tuesday.
Referring to criticism by Austrian officials regarding Hungary’s decision to allow migrants to travel to westwards on Monday, Levente Magyar, state secretary for economic diplomacy, told a news conference that within 24 hours another country that is in an alliance with Hungary and on friendly terms has used “base language to judge Hungary’s immigration policies”. “Yet this criticism comes from countries that are having to deal with far lighter pressure from the illegal migration wave than Hungary,” he said.
Magyar insisted that Austrian criticism of Hungary first for being too strict by building a fence along the Hungary-Serbia border and then for being too lenient for allowing migrants to travel on without valid documents was paradoxical. “There is some chaos in people’s heads whether to criticise Hungary for its rigour or for its indulgent immigration policy,” he said.
Rather than criticising Hungary, the “superhuman” efforts by its authorities to tackle the influx of illegal migrants should be appreciated, Magyar said.
The state secretary also said that Austria had made a unilateral move when on Monday morning it “closed roads” to that country, insisting it was Austria’s sovereign right to do so.
As a member of the EU, Hungary is obliged to register illegal migrants and verify whether or not they have valid travel documents should they wish to travel on. Being registered in Hungary does not automatically entail the right to travel on to another EU country, Magyar said.
Concerning the EU’s refugee quotas Magyar said that if Hungary is impacted by the largest number of illegal immigrants “by what logic should it be expected to receive even more?”.
“We do not want any more migrants because we can hardly manage the current situation,” he said, adding, however, that Hungary will do its best to contribute to a European solution to tackle the problem.
Photo: MTI