Budapest (MTI) – Jobbik welcomes that the government has “recognised” the importance of tackling immigration, but this can only be done by more effective border control, the party’s senior official said on Friday.
The radical nationalist party’s opinion is that contrary to the “dreams” expressed by the government spokesman earlier, the problem cannot be solved in the sending country, Daniel Z Karpat, Jobbik’s group leader, said.
Jobbik believes that Hungary should make its open reception centres closed and it should reinstate the border guard service, which had earlier been merged into police.
The government spokesman said earlier on Friday that Hungary’s views on illegal migration were not too different from the European Union’s, as the Hungarian government would also tackle the problem in the sending country, so that illegal migrants had no need to set off in the first place.
The spokesman said that a national consultation would be held in Hungary on immigration and terrorism. The 12 questions to be asked by post from Hungarians include one on whether illegal border-crossers should be allowed to be detained for more than 24 hours, despite an EU prohibition to do so. Another question will seek opinions on repercussions if immigrants “encourage illegal migration” and another on whether they should be required to work to offset the costs of their sustenance in Hungary.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that his position on immigration was that Europe did not need immigrants and that it should instead implement good family and jobs policies. He said that Hungary had proposed that each individual EU member state should decide on which measures to implement in order to put a brake on the wave of refugees.
Photo: MTI