There are no signs that the migrant crisis will relent and there are indicators of a prolonged migration process which will see even more illegal immigrants descend upon Europe.
György Bakondi, Chief Security Advisor to the prime minister, said that even though the agreement between Turkey and the EU is still in force, the number of migrants on the islands of Greece has doubled.
The reason for this is that deportations have been on hold since the coup attempt in Turkey, and according to various political statements, if the EU does not grant Turks visa-free travel, the agreement will be suspended. Consequently, migrants are being transported from islands to land, from where they set off towards Europe’s heart, thus increasing the pressure on Hungary’s borders, Bakondi explained.
He also added that because of these circumstances, the Hungarian government has decided to increase the number of police officers on duty on Hungary’s borders by 3,000 people.
Bakondi said that until now, 18,000 people have attempted to cross the Hungarian-Serbian border illegally, and there are currently 2,200 people waiting in the transit zones. Therefore Hungary’s position is that illegal migration must be stopped, not just halted, he added. He also expressed his hope that at the European Council’s next meeting, the Visegrád countries will present a joint, harmonised proposal on this topic.
On Friday, Bakondi said that due to migration, a protracted crisis situation is to be expected in Europe, and therefore the issue of “security can no longer wait”.
Bakondi said then that the government does not understand the statements by certain EU politicians that urge people to “show a positive attitude” towards the distribution of masses arriving in Europe. He noted that some nation states – even if belated – have started taking measures to ensure their citizens’ safety; an example for this is also the package of measures announced by Germany.
Bakondi also pointed out that movements can be observed on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, and groups of migrants have also appeared close to the Romanian border, but so far, Romania’s border protection system has proved to be effective.
The government are holding a referendum on October 2 for the people of Hungary to determine whether they will accept the forced migration quotas imposed upon them by the EU.