The European Union has relinquished control of its external borders to people smugglers who now decide who becomes a European resident and who does not, Hungary’s Deputy Minister of Interior Bence Rétvári said on Monday.
Speaking on the M1 television channel, Rétvári criticized the European Commission for its inadequate support in helping Hungary turn back 270,000 illegal border crossers last year, and said there is no central will in Brussels to prevent illegal immigration.
“In fact, proceedings are being initiated against Hungary for protecting the southern border,” he said.
The Hungarian politician lamented the fact that “human traffickers are unfortunately the determinants of the European population,” claiming that criminal gangs working in the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East now have so much power they can effectively choose who comes to live in Europe and who doesn’t.
He said that despite the recent declaration signed by 15 EU member states committing to greater external border protection, most countries not residing on the external frontier will continue to do little to tackle the problem.
“The 15 countries are the majority of the union, but in this case, for example, the Luxembourg foreign minister says that they will in no way contribute to the construction of fences and walls, they will never support this,” Rétvári told viewers, revealing the pro-immigration administrations in many European countries will prevent them from taking any meaningful action to address the problem.
[pp id=68803]
“This kind of worldview prevails within the Union, it is pro-migration, they continue to force the distribution of migrants according to mandatory quotas,” he added, noting that of those who are expelled from European territory upon entry, “a good number of them then try to enter the Union again.”
“It’s a huge deal; no wonder you hear gunfire every other day from Serbia, gang wars,” Rétvári said on the migration issue at Hungary’s southern border, accusing the European Union of “increasing the profits of human traffickers.”
Despite the lack of central support from the European Union, Hungary has remained defiant in its fight against illegal immigration, and the policy of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his governing Fidesz party remains popular among Hungarian voters, with Orbán receiving the support of almost half the electorate in the latest polling.
The Hungarian prime minister warned last week that the greatest danger inherent in uncontrolled migration is that countries will see a deterioration of public security and terrorism.
He also revealed that the Hungarian labor force will need 500,000 new workers in the next two years, but has pledged to find the majority of this by mobilizing Hungarian reserves instead of relying on mass migration like many other European nations.
“Hungary belongs to the Hungarians,” said Orbán. “We cannot allow foreign labor to be allowed in for the sake of convenience. Otherwise, we will lose our security,” he said last week.
