Weekly government press briefing about asylum seekers, local development projects, energy supplies and Metro 4 construction

Budapest, January 12 (MTI) – The government has decided to reintroduce a system for detaining migrants, the government office chief said on Thursday. Government scrutiny of applications by Hungary’s municipalities for extra funding connected with ongoing investment projects will be tightened up, János Lázár, the government office chief said. The government will file a criminal complaint against an unidentified perpetrator in connection with the construction of Budapest’s fourth metro line, he said.

Detention to be reintroduced for asylum seekers

Migrants who have submitted an application for asylum will be banned from moving around freely on Hungarian soil until their case has been ruled on. Also, rejected applicants will be banned from crossing Hungary’s borders until their have received a binding ruling, János Lázár told a weekly press briefing.

The heightened terrorist threat and related security risks are the reason for the decision, he said, adding the view that migration pressure on Hungary was expected to further increase over the course of 2017.

In light of this, the government has tasked the interior minister with preparing the immediate reintroduction of migrant detention, he said.

He said the autumn and December summits of the European Commission and Council on the issue had both failed.

The situation of those staying already within the EU’s boundaries is also problematic, Lázár said, adding that the number of migrants seeking to cross into Hungary from Serbia was on the rise, and this called for tightening up border protections already in effect.

Asked about the issue of a migrant tent camp in Körmend, in western Hungary near the Austrian border, Lázár responded that the reintroduction of detention would resolve the problem since the facility would no longer be needed. He expressed thanks to the town’s leaders and residents for their cooperation so far, which, Lázár said, the government would show appreciation for in the form of development projects.

Government tightens up scrutiny of extra costs related to local development projects

Applications for extra funding of up to 15 percent will be directed to the relevant ministry. In the case of extra funding worth an extra 15-30 percent, the economy minister together with justice professionals will have the right to veto the allocation, János Lázár told.

Applications for over 30 percent of extra funding will be rejected outright, he said.

Meanwhile, Lázár said the government aims to pay out the total amount of 9,000 billion forints (EUR 29.3bn) available to Hungary in EU development funding by the end of March 2018.

Further, the government plans to invite, by the end of March this year, applications for EU funds available until 2020, with decisions expected to be made no later than the end of this year, he said.

This year’s plan is to transfer EU funds of at least 2,200 billion forints (EUR 7.1bn) or possibly up to 2,700 billion forints, contributing significantly to projected economic growth of at least 4 percent, he added.