Kinga Gál, the chair of the Fidesz-Christian Democrat European Parliament delegation, has called for "the bad EU migration pact" to be "chucked out" and for fines against Hungary for stopping migration to be lifted.
The outgoing European Commission's "big mistake" was to force through the EU migration pact, Gál, who is also the first deputy leader of the Patriots for Europe group, told an international press conference on Wednesday, adding that the pact imposed "old and bad solutions" to problems of which the pact itself was the focal point.
She said mass illegal migration endangered Europeans, ruined the continent and compromised Schengen free movement. "Radical change is needed," she declared.
Gál said protecting the external borders should be a priority, and she argued that asylum applications must be assessed beyond Europe's borders. Also, she called for cooperation with countries from where migrants originate and travel through, while people who have no legal right to stay in the EU should be "sent back".
The Fidesz politician said Hungary in 2015 had been the first EU member state to highlight the perils and unsustainability of mass illegal migration, and ever since the country had advanced proposals on how to strengthen and control the external borders and prevent irregular migration while putting its advice into practice.
Gál said that while more and more EU member states demanded stricter controls at the EU borders and a clamp-down on migration, the European Commission was "harshly punishing" Hungary for protecting the EU borders, which she called "outrageous" and "hypocritical".
Tamas Deutsch, the Fidesz-Christian Democrat European Parliament group leader, noted that the EP decided on its position on the 2025 EU budget at its plenary session on Wednesday.
He said Fidesz argued for a EU budget that advanced peace and stopped illegal migration while strengthening national sovereignty.
The Patriots' bill would have provided the union with effective means for stopping illegal migration and protecting external borders, such as procuring border protection equipment and building and maintaining border fences.