Hungary's foreign minister has said that the Hungarian government is opposed to the European Commission’s position on resettling migrants within EU member states and it would not allow “a single illegal migrant” into the country.
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said EU member states who refuse to implement migrant quotas are being subjected to “simple blackmail” under the EU's infringement procedure.
The minister insisted that the commission was attempting to cover up its “dismal failure” over the scheme, given that the decision to distribute 120,000 people among member states was made two years ago, but only 20,000 have so far been relocated.
Minister Szijjártó stated that no country has fully implemented the EU decision, and countries like Hungary have clearly stated why they refused to accept the ruling.
The minister said the plan was “extremely dangerous” considering the current threat of terrorism. It is impossible to know who the 1.5 million illegal entrants to Europe are, he added.
Minister Szijjártó also highlighted why he thought the EC infringement notice was “hypocritical”. He said the Greek commissioner, in his capacity in 2013 as the country’s defence minister, had welcomed Greece’s decision to build a fence on the Turkish border to thwart the migration wave, now however, “he is giving reasons why a fence should not be built,” he added.