Those leaving Afghanistan are trying to enter Hungary through the southern border, thus migration pressure there will increase, the prime minister said. He added, however, that the fence is “good and strong,” and if necessary, more people will be deployed at the border.
The weak point here, the PM continued, is Brussels. It says anyone who wants to leave Afghanistan must be allowed in, which is “treason.” Thousands of people are working along the border to ensure our safety in the heart of Europe, while Brussels is betraying Hungary and the people of Europe, he noted.
“We are protecting the security of the whole of Europe,” and we can hopefully stop the plan to bring people from Afghanistan, the prime minister said, stressing that help should go to where the trouble is, and trouble should not be brought to Hungary, the Czech Republic or the European Union.
PM Orbán said that 2015 saw more than 400,000 migrants entering from the south in just a few months without any papers or permits, which was “a real invasion,” and that the unsustainable public security situation led to the decision to build the fence. He stressed that “if you have the will, you can protect the border,” and in the EU, it is not the ability but the will that is lacking.
The prime minister praised the political and material support Hungary received from the Czech Republic and the Visegrad Four during “the hardest times” and welcomed the Czech prime minister's offer to help again if needed.
Had it not been for the fence, millions of migrants would have entered the Schengen zone without being checked, Orbán warned. Yet, the PM also noted that there should, in fact, be no fence here because Serbia should already be a member of the European Union and the Schengen Area. Prime Minister Orbán further noted that if Serbia had already joined the EU, we would all be safer.
Finally, he reiterated that migration is not a human right. Everyone, however, does belong to a country that should be kept in proper order, and Hungary is ready to help these countries become more livable.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said that the EU was preoccupied with a lot of nonsense, such as migration quotas, whereas we instead need to fight against people smugglers and bring help outside of Europe to stop the migration flow.
Babiš visited the border to see firsthand why the fence was built and its significance. He emphasized that when the fence was built, it was the only well-functioning Schengen border and it was built here because it is the shortest route for migrants to Germany.
According to the Czech PM, Europe’s attitude regarding migration is slowly changing, but more countries should be included in the Schengen Area and more emphasis should be placed on the protection of the maritime border.