Referendum – Rejection of EU quotas brings new obligations for Hungarian government

Budapest, October 6 (MTI) – The result of last Sunday’s referendum, in which more than 3 million people rejected European Union migrant quotas, has established new obligations for the Hungarian government both at home and abroad, a government official said on Thursday.

As part of fulfilling its obligations at home, the government will submit a constitutional amendment proposal to parliament to reflect the outcome of the vote, Csaba Dömötör, parliamentary cabinet state secretary, said at a press conference.

To meet the government’s international obligations, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker notifying him of the referendum’s result, Dömötör added. On Friday, Orbán is scheduled to discuss the result with Robert Fico, the prime minister of EU presidency-holder Slovakia.

Dömötör said the referendum heralded the start of a new process rather than the final act, arguing that migration pressure on Europe was unlikely to ease anytime soon and that Brussels had not withdrawn its migrant quota plan, in spite of Hungary’s referendum outcome. The state secretary added that the quota scheme could soon also end up on the agenda of the European Parliament, with a parliamentary hearing on the plan set to be held as soon as next week.

Dömötör insisted that the Hungarian government would use “any method it can” to get the EC to withdraw its prior decisions regarding the resettlement of migrants across the bloc.

Asked whether there were any polls or analyses released before the referendum that had been “hidden” from Orbán, Dömötör said all members of government had had access to every poll that was released.