Budapest, July 9 (MTI) – The government expects abuses of the asylum system to drop significantly after a related law was passed earlier this week, government office chief Janos Lazar said.
The law will allow for the important task of screening illegal migrants and will unify and tighten asylum procedures, Lazar told a press conference on Thursday.
Talks need to continue with the European Union — and specifically Germany and Austria — about the 15,000-20,000 migrants who are planned to be returned to Hungary, he said.
Lazar welcomed the recent remarks of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who pointed out the gravity of the migration crisis affecting Serbia and Hungary.
A temporary border closure is being prepared at “full steam ahead” and the interior minister has been ordered to erect the fence as soon as possible, Lazar said. Construction should start within weeks, he added.
Lazar said he had seen evidence from secret services that human trafficking groups are operating in Serbia and they are able to identify spots where the border is easily permeable, he said.
Asked what the government was doing to prevent the spread of xenophobia, he said: “If migrants don’t play by the rules of the destination country, the locals will feel repulsed.” He said the Hungarian people would “gladly grant asylum” to those fleeing from war and persecution for their ethnicity, beliefs or political views, but those who think they can enter Europe illegally just for a better life “will never be accepted”.
Lazar said related developments will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on July 21, along with the necessary disaster relief measures for damage caused by Wednesday’s storm and the Greek debt crisis.
Photo: MTI