EU leaders summit – Orbán: All hinges on closing the borders

Brussels, December 16 (MTI) – Everything in relation to the migration crisis depends on whether the borders are closed down or not, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday after a meeting of EU heads of state and government in Brussels.

Prior to the summit, leaders of the Visegrad grouping of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia met and adopted a joint position on the three key issues, he said, namely that the borders must be protected, that “all who had come in must be sent back” and that all who want to come must be held outside the EU and separated into different groups.

Orbán said Hungary has closed its borders but Greece is incapable of doing so and Italy “cannot or would not” follow suit. “The situation in Italy is dramatic,” he said. Concerning Turkey, he said the situation was “fragile” and the uncertainty raised the question if another influx of immigrants was to be expected coming through the western Balkans. Hungary could stop a new migrant crisis if there was one, he insisted.

Orbán said the responsibility lied with Brussels for enabling rejected asylum seekers to freely leave Hungary for western Europe. Brussels could help by changing the “unrealistic” rule under which rejected asylum seekers who ask for legal remedy cannot be kept in custody. The meeting of prime ministers has rejected a proposal on changing that rule, Orbán said.