Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that Hungary cannot be forced to accept migrants.
During an interview with Portuguese newspaper Expresso, Prime Minister Orbán defended the Fundamental Law of Hungary, the rejection of mandatory resettlement quotas, and the construction of a barrier fence at the borders.
He added that his approach to the migrant problem is completely different from that of the European Commission, and that he does not believe that migration can solve demographic and economic difficulties.
Hungary's geographical position puts it on the current frontier of the European Union's Schengen Area, bordering Croatia, Serbia and Romania, and thus responsible for enforcing the Schengen Zone's external border; yet still it is heavily criticised, he said.
He added that Hungary had tried to resolve the situation without a border fence, but migrants “did not accept” that solution, which is why Hungary had to resort to “walls”.
Speaking about the EU-Turkey deal, Prime Minister Orbán said that it is necessary and he supports any bilateral agreement with any state from which migrants might arrive in Europe.
According to the Prime Minister, migrants want to cross a number of safe countries in order to reach Germany, but international law does not allow for “á la carte” asylum provision, and people must accept refuge in the first safe country they arrive in. We must respect their dignity and provide them with protection, but this does not mean that they are free to decide where they want to go, he said.
He declared that all rules and laws must be adhered to. If someone wants to come to Hungary, they have to go to the official border crossing points and show their identification papers. Those who fail to do so are committing crimes, he added.
Prime Minister Orbán also said that there is a link between migrants and terrorism. Europe is at war with countries from which they are coming, and although Hungarian forces are not present in Syria, other European countries are.
The Prime Minister is not worried that the EU might sanction Hungary, because the EU is not the Soviet Union. He added that the Treaty on European Union states that all decisions on constitutional identity should be within the competency of Member States.
He concluded that Christianity is a tradition that Hungary must respect, because without it “we would not have survived the past one thousand years".