Hungary’s international spokesman has said that the European Commission’s approach to handling migration, and its attempt to turn Europe into an “immigration continent”, are “diametrically opposed to the wishes of the government and the people of Hungary".
Zoltán Kovács, the state secretary for international communication and relations, said that the Hungarian government has repeatedly addressed the commission’s “attempts to hide the plans and ideas” still on the table regarding illegal migration.
Kovács said one such plan is debit cards for migrants, basically a system of support created by circumventing the most important decision-making bodies. Over 60,000 received such cards this January alone, with the whole program costing over 110 million euros, Kovács added. The system of debit cards “begs a thousand questions”, and demonstrates a will to legalize illegal migration, he said.
The spokesman said other elements of the system are the concept of migrant visas and the mandatory resettlement quota, which are still on the agenda. The commission is holding its fifth European Migration Forum in April. Although the official focus is the integration of migrants already in the EU, the invitation still talks about safe and regular migration to Europe.