Until Europe closes its external borders, there will always be people trying to enter illegally, Prime Minister’s Viktor Orbán’s Chief Homeland Security Adviser György Bakondi told national station Kossuth radio on Wednesday, warning that migratory pressures have increased along all European routes.
Taking advantage of the political debate between Morocco and Spain, more and more people are coming to Europe illegally via Spain, Bakondi said, adding that the situation is similar on the Mediterranean migration route in Italy.
He said that Spain and Italy had initiated negotiations on the migration situation in the Council of Europe at precisely the right time as the European Union is currently discussing the outlines of a new migration strategy.
Regarding the migration route from Turkey, he said that the situation there was greatly influenced by the development of the Turkish-Greek relationship, which is currently burdened with varying degrees of political tension. Therefore, that migration route is also busy, and through this particular route is where most people come to the Hungarian border.
This year, more than 38,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended by the Hungarian authorities, compared to only about 10,000 in the same period last year.
Bakondi said that Hungary’s position on migration is very clear:
“We do not want to live with those who are sent here to the European Union by an organization to support them. We believe that those who enter Hungary here cannot be illegal border crossers, they cannot be people transported by organized crime. This is open to those who have been granted a permit by the authorities,” he said.
Title image: MTI/AP.
