Fidesz MEP Enikő Győri said in Strasbourg on Monday that when it comes to the issue of migration, the Hungarian and Italian governments share the position that "illegal migration must be stopped" while real refugees can enter Europe.
At a book presentation held on the sidelines of a European Parliament plenary session, a member of the Patriots for Europe group said Hungary was the single EU country since 2015 that had maintained a consistent position on migration.
Discussing Daniele Scalea's "Immigration: the populists' reasons", Győri said Hungary worked well with the current Italian government on the issue of migration, and more and more people in Europe shared the Hungarian position.
The new EU migration and asylum pact, she added, promoted by the European People's Party (EPP) and left wingers did not go towards solving the problem because the mandatory distribution of migrants between member states in effect served as an invitation to migrants.
As well as Hungary's refusal to vote for the migration package, five countries had expressed disagreement with its content, she said, adding that even before it entered into force, twenty "sane" member states had written to the European Commission seeking to renegotiate it. The Patriots, she added, "have planted our flag for change..."
Hungary does not allow anyone who is not a genuine refugee through the border, Győri said, adding that the country accepts Ukrainian refugees, "Ukrainians who are genuinely fleeing war".