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News in Brief

ECHR refers Hungary's appeal over Bangladeshi migrants to its Grand Chamber

Sep 20, 2017

Pál Völner, state secretary at the justice ministry, said Hungary welcomes the ruling by the court

News in Brief

Hungary's border protection measures are still necessary says government spokesperson

Sep 18, 2017

“There is continuous migration pressure on our borders; without the measures that are still in place today, the situation would be much worse," said Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács

Blog

POLITICO: “Orbán wins the migration argument”

Sep 15, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

In an article published this morning, “Orbán wins the migration argument,” POLITICO Europe writes: “Suddenly most EU leaders echo the Hungarian prime minister.”

News in Brief

Hungarian government denies claims its about to reach an agreement with the EC over mandatory resettlement quotas

Sep 12, 2017

Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said the claims made by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) where "no more than German electioneering hot air, and not a word of it is true"

Blog

The New York Times editors really still don’t get it

Sep 11, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

“Hungary is making Europe’s migrant crisis worse,” according to the New York Times editorial board in an op-ed published over the weekend. How?

News in Brief

Hungarian government says immigration can't be tied to cohesion funds

Sep 08, 2017

"The Commission should not only oversee the fulfilment of the obligations related to immigration, but should also take the security of the EU’s citizens into consideration," the minister heading the Prime Minister's Office said

Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

PM Orbán's response to President Jean-Claude Juncker

Sep 08, 2017

September 6, 2017

News in Brief Prime Minister

PM Orbán: European Court decision won’t change Hungary’s immigration policies

Sep 08, 2017

Hungary is a member of the European Union, EU treaties must be respected, therefore the rulings of the European Court of Justice must be acknowledged, said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this morning in response to the decision from the European Court of Justice on migrant quotas. However, he added, that is not a reason to change Hungary’s immigration policies, which reject mass migration.

News in Brief

European Commissioner threatens to take legal action against countries who refuse to take in illegal immigrants

Sep 07, 2017

The EC has urged member states that have refused to take in migrants - specifically Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic - to step up their efforts to relocate illegal immigrants from Greece and Italy

News in Brief

Hungarian government expects further legal disputes with European Commission

Sep 07, 2017

“The decision on the mandatory resettlement quota expires on September 26, and further legal disputes are expected concerning whether it must still be implemented following the deadline,' Bakondi said

News in Brief

Hungarian government is "getting sick of statements concerning solidarity"

Sep 07, 2017

“Why isn’t border protection included in the category of solidarity? Aren’t we showing solidarity by sending help to Slovenia and Bulgaria?," Hungary's foreign minister said

News in Brief

Hungary's Foreign Minister in response to Angela Merkel: PM Orbán ordered the Hungarian authorities to uphold Schengen rules in all circumstances

Sep 05, 2017

Minister Szijjártó said it was an “honor” for Hungary that its efforts were mentioned during Germany's political debate and recognition that Germany was “finally aware of the efforts Hungary is making to fulfil its commitments to the bloc by protecting itself and Europe”

News in Brief

Hungary's border fence is not only protecting the country but also Western Europe, says foreign minister

Sep 05, 2017

“Hungary has incurred over 800 million euros in costs and expenses relating to border protection tasks, and we are justified in expecting the EU to refund part of this expenditure based on solidarity," Hungary's foreign minister said

Blog

These Western leaders are beginning to sound like PM Orbán on migration

Sep 05, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Recently, following his meeting with Irish PM Leo Varadkar Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau ‘sounded the alarm’ on the growing number of immigrants entering Canada. Although “Canada is an opening and welcoming society,” Prime Minister Trudeau said, “we are also a country of laws” and “there are rigorous immigration and customs rules that will be followed. Make no mistake”.

News in Brief

Next year's general election is a choice between PM Orbán or the dismantling of Hungary’s border fence

Sep 04, 2017

“We have a choice between protecting our country or allowing it to change forever,” Fidesz party’s communications chief said, citing recent estimates, according to which 60 million migrants are expected to flee Africa for Europe over the coming years

News in Brief

PM Orbán: Government's accomplishments at stake in 2018 general election

Sep 04, 2017

PM Orbán spoke about a changing world order at the 16th annual Civic Picnic in Kötcse, in southwestern Hungary

News in Brief

Hungary's deputy speaker says Angela Merkel was mistaken when she said the Hungarian government “misled” migrants

Aug 31, 2017

Merkel said that migrants who had departed from Budapest on foot towards the Austrian border in 2015 had done so because they had been “misled” by the Hungarian government

News in Brief

Hungary's Chief Security Advisor says the mandatory distribution of migrants is not the solution

Aug 17, 2017

György Bakondi also stated that the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which often assist migration in cooperation with networks of people smugglers pose a threat to internal security

News in Brief

Hungary's Chief Security Advisor says population numbers have reached their limits in EU Member States where there are migrants in large numbers

Aug 15, 2017

The EU may offer African countries financial grants in exchange for preventing the progress of migrants, György Bakondi said

News in Brief

Hungarian authorities continue investigation into terrorist Salah Abdeslam

Aug 14, 2017

Abdeslam was responsible for the Bataclan shootings and a series of attacks in Belgium. The Hungarian authorities are trying to identify all persons that Abdeslam made contact with while in Hungary

Blog

The EU is surrounded by states that fail to counter human trafficking

Jul 26, 2017

“Human trafficking is one of the most tragic human rights issues of our time,” according to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Among other findings, the report clearly reveals that Europe is under serious threat. It is high time, the text shows, for European authorities and legislators to start taking border protection seriously.

News in Brief

Migrant Crisis: Hungary says hotspots should be created on Libyan soil to vet asylum seekers before they reach Europe

Jul 25, 2017

Hungary's foreign minister has called for the revival of an Austro-Italian initiative to get the EU to contribute to the protection of the southern Libyan borders

Blog

Where have I heard this before?

Jul 21, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

“Change is happening country by country,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a recent radio interview, “and after Italy we await the next member state to join our club.”

News in Brief

Hungary will keep its Southern border standing to protect EU from terrorism

Jul 19, 2017

Hungary will only give refugee status to those who have indeed fled countries where their lives were in danger. Hungary’s asylum regulations conform to the Geneva Conventions

News in Brief

Hungary supports assisting those who are truly eligble for asylum

Jul 17, 2017

The pressure from illegal migration is still not receding, and in fact a significant increase is being observed along both the Mediterranean migrating route and from Morocco to Spain

News in Brief

Hungary rejects the EU's mandatory migrant resettlement quotas

Jul 12, 2017

Hungary supports stricter regulations against NGOs ferrying migrants across the sea to Europe

News in Brief Prime Minister

PM Orbán to head of Hungarian Jewish Communities: 'a modicum of assistance would be appreciated'

Jul 11, 2017

PM Orbán highlighted that illegal immigration is bringing a culture of intolerance and growing anti-Semitism into Europe. The prime minister wrote that “I do not expect either thanks or recognition for our fight against illegal migration, but a modicum of assistance from your community would be appreciated”

News in Brief

PM Orbán: It was a mistake to kill Gaddafi and European armed forces are needed to patrol Libya's northern shores

Jul 07, 2017

PM Orbán also said Soros is intent on importing one million migrants to Europe and other plans include stripping EU member states of their right to decide on immigration policy

News in Brief

Hungarian army contingent arrives in Estonia while 166 migrants apprehended within a week

Jul 04, 2017

Personnel mainly from the Hungarian Defence Forces 25th Klapka György Infantry Brigade (Tata) were transported by a C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft to their new Estonian barracks on Sunday

Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech at the closing event for the National Consultation

Jun 29, 2017

27 June 2017, Budapest

News in Brief

Deputy PM Semjén: We must stop migration to protect Hungary

Jun 29, 2017

Deputy PM said we must support Hungarian families, and we must reinforce Christian identity

News in Brief

PM Orbán: We want Hungarians to come first and prosper from economic success

Jun 28, 2017

PM Orbán said that in this democracy he can see no one asking the people for guidance except his own party

Blog

Blame Hungary

Jun 23, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

It was one of the most heinous crimes from the dark days of the migrant crisis in 2015. The trial began this week in Hungary of eleven men charged in the deaths of 71 migrants, victims of human traffickers, found in an abandoned refrigerator truck in August of that year.

Blog

Hungarian Presidency of Visegrád Four: Our group serves as example of strength from strong nation states

Jun 22, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

“Over the past two years, the Visegrád Four,” said Prime Minister Orbán on Monday in Warsaw, “have succeeded in not only protecting Hungary, but also the southern border of Europe.”

News in Brief

Hungarian trial begins over murder of 71 refugees found suffocated to death in lorry

Jun 21, 2017

One Afghan and three Bulgarian nationals appeared in court on Wednesday and are facing life. Eleven men in total are reported to be facing charges, one is on the run

Blog

Borders must be protected

Jun 20, 2017 - György Bakondi

The migration crisis has besieged Europe for two years, and the terms “migration” and “immigration” have taken on new meaning because of it.

Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s reply to opposition comments on his address in Parliament before the start of daily business

Jun 16, 2017

12 June 2017, Budapest

Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s address in Parliament before the start of daily business

Jun 16, 2017

12 June 2017, Budapest

News in Brief

Hungary builds relations with Bavaria

Jun 09, 2017

Hungary and Bavaria discussed how to tackle illegal migration and the threat of terrorism. The two parties also discussed measures to help economic cooperation and tourism

Blog

Illegal Migration: What is going on in the Mediterranean Sea?

Jun 08, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

An interesting video surfaced recently in the deep corners of Youtube, a two-minute clip that uses open-source information on marine traffic to allegedly show how pro-migration NGO vessels are shuttling illegal migrants from the coast of Libya to Italy.

News in Brief

PM Orbán: The only network which “operates like a mafia” in Hungary is run by George Soros

Jun 02, 2017

Soros’s network and its "agencies" were “a significant and non-transparent component of Hungary’s public life”. Soros and “his supporters in Hungary” were seeking to implement “a program to allow migrants into the country," the prime minister said

News in Brief

Hungarian government receives a record 1.68 million responses to "national consultation" questionnaire

Jun 01, 2017

The government intends to continue tackling illegal migration and to maintain the right to regulate taxes, wages and utility prices as national competencies

News in Brief

Hungarian authorities detain 123 migrants over past four days

Jun 01, 2017

Hungarian police revealed that the offenders did not have passports or any form of identification, and were subsequently escorted back to the Serbian border

News in Brief

Hungary reluctant to relax laws surrounding illegal immigration

May 30, 2017

Hungary's government spokesperson has said that the country is staunchly against any attempt to relax the existing legal framework surrounding the issue of illegal migration

News in Brief

Opposition figure Botka calls for demolishing border fence amid heightened terror threat

May 27, 2017

Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said László Botka’s remarks had “let the cat out of the bag" and “clearly corresponds to George Soros’s scenario"

Blog

“Eurodame” to the rescue!

May 23, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

“This is the kind of doublespeak Hungary is seeking to combat,” I said in response to a reporter’s recent inquiry about a video produced with the support of the European Commission. “[W]hile everyone should be complying with EU regulations, propaganda materials supporting migration are being made from EU money.”

News in Brief

Hungarian Police: 'We do not hold asylum-seekers captive'

May 23, 2017

"We do not hold asylum-seekers captive. They are free to leave towards Serbia anytime," said Zsolt Gulyás, deputy police captain in Csongrád Country, in an article published in the Danish newspaper Politiken.

News in Brief

PM Orbán: The heart of Europe is in the people, not Brussels

May 22, 2017

"Many think that Europe is in Brussels, where instructions are given to member states," the prime minister said, adding that this kind of ideology led to the financial crisis of 2008. It also led to the “free movement of illegal migrants replacing the free movement of labor"

News in Brief

Hungary welcomes German and Italian calls for EC to establish border protection mission in Libya

May 18, 2017

“The Hungarian government fully agrees with the proposal, especially in view of the fact that 42,500 illegal immigrants have arrived in Italy as of mid-April, and many more are expected to set out for the continent with the arrival of good weather," Hungary's foreign minister said

News in Brief

Hungary says illegal immigration must be tackled at point of origin

May 17, 2017

The EU Commissioner for migration has said that it is the legal and moral obligation of the member states of the European Union to participate in the EU mechanism to resettle 160,000 asylum-seekers

News in Brief

Hungarian prosecutors call for life sentences for people smugglers responsible for 71 migrant deaths in refrigerated lorry

May 05, 2017

The public prosecutor of Bács-Kiskun county said that altogether 1,200 people were transported illegally to western Europe between February 2015 and August of the same year on 31 occasions in sealed and crowded lorry compartments

News in Brief

Hungary defends itself against migrant pressure from Brussels

May 04, 2017

Hungary does not wish to change its immigration regulations, and if the Brussels Commission launches legal proceedings the government is ready to fight the resulting legal battle

News in Brief

Hungary says it's about time Brussels grasped the facts

May 02, 2017

“We expect the Hungarians to be given the respect they have a right to and we draw the attention of the Brussels bureaucrats to the fact that while they are centered on Hungary, the country is defending the borders of the European Union from illegal immigration," the minister said

News in Brief

Hungary won't submit to political pressure but will debate legal issues with EU

May 02, 2017

Hungary is showing willingness to allow entry to migrants aged 14-18, but only following DNA testing that can definitively prove whether they are indeed members of the given age group

Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Kossuth Radio’s “180 Minutes” programme

May 02, 2017

April 28, 2017

Blog

The troubling alliance between NGOs and human traffickers off Europe’s southern border

Apr 29, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

An increasing number of reports indicate that non-governmental organizations are collaborating with human traffickers to illegally transport migrants into Europe, undocumented and unchecked.

News in Brief

Hungary takes up the fight against extremism

Apr 28, 2017

Hungary wants to quell the spread of extremism before it has a chance to even take root, the minister of Interior has said

News in Brief

Border security is the key to Hungary's homeland security

Apr 18, 2017

Hungary's chief security advisor made the remarks in light of more than eighty people who have started demonstrations in the locality of Röszke. Bakondi said that a "Soros organization” arrived at the scene with organized transport

News in Brief

Recent terror attacks emphasize the need for reinforced border

Apr 12, 2017

The number of attempts to illegally cross the border have fallen significantly since the stricter regulations were introduced and rather than undergoing checks and being identified, migrants are instead avoiding the Hungarian border and attempting to enter Europe via new routes

News in Brief

Hungary complies with all EU regulations regarding the protection of external borders

Apr 07, 2017

Those crossing the border illegally will be granted decent conditions in transit zones in Tompa and Röszke, outside the south borders of Hungary

News in Brief

Hungary's border reinforcements are "working well and without problems"

Apr 03, 2017

No one has been able to enter the territory of Hungary illegally since the legal border reinforcement because the authorities have prevented this, and the migrants who were apprehended in the interior of the country were accompanied back to the transit zones

Blog

Is the European Court of Human Rights going to tell you who gets to cross the border into Europe?

Mar 30, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

According to Schengen rules, if people enter the Schengen zone by crossing the Hungarian border and do not have proper documentation, then Hungary has a legal obligation to ensure that those people do not leave until their status is clarified.

News in Brief

Hungary never closed its borders to migrants says minister

Mar 29, 2017

"Hungary actually never closed its borders to refugees or migrants. Anyone, even in the last two years, who wanted to cross the border legally [could use] border crossing stations. You provide your papers, your passport, and if you don’t have one, you basically play by the rules of the authorities and by the legislation of the EU," Hungary's deputy minster of Foreign Affairs and Trade said

News in Brief

Hungary's new migration policy has seen the number of attempted illegal entries fall dramatically

Mar 29, 2017

György Bakondi, the chief security advisor to the prime minister, said the double border fence and “legal border seal” have thwarted attempts to enter the country

News in Brief

The Helsinki Committee is attacking the reinforced legal border barrier

Mar 29, 2017

The Helsinki Committee is attacking the reinforced legal border barrier - during the course of its overzealous activities it is attacking non-existent container prisons using faulty legal reasoning, according to a statement released today by the Ministry of Interior.

News in Brief

PM Orbán signs declaration on improving and protecting the EU's future

Mar 27, 2017

The prime minister emphasized the importance of taking steps against illegal migration and tackling terrorism, and a commitment to creating jobs

News in Brief

Hungary rejects Council of Europe commissioner's claims that new migrant rules set a "bad example" for Europe

Mar 15, 2017

Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, made the comments after Nils Muizniek claimed Hungary sets a "bad example" for the whole region

News in Brief

Hungary responds to UNHCR claim that it 'tramples on European Union laws'

Mar 08, 2017

The Hungarian government has said that it gives priority to the interests and security of Hungarians, and no illegal migrants will be let into the country without a due assessment of their application for asylum

News in Brief

Hungarian court convicts seven Syrian and Iraqi men for taking part in migrant riots

Mar 01, 2017

The Court of Appeal in the southern city of Szeged has convicted seven Syrian and Iraqi men for their role in a migrant riot at the Röszke border crossing in 2015

News in Brief

Hungary says no UN member state should use human rights as a pressure tool against other nations

Mar 01, 2017

Hungary's foreign minister said it is important that no UN member state should use human rights as a tool of exerting pressure on another state. It is equally important that none of the member states should “be held hostage” in a dispute that purely concerns inter-state relations