Orbán wants country to attract Hungarians return from abroad

Budapest, February 24 (MTI) – Political leaders must turn Hungary into a country that attracts its citizens living abroad to return, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview on local television in Szekszárd, in southern Hungary, that aired late on Tuesday.

“We need to create an environment in which young people feel comfortable, and one that they view … as a highly exciting, interesting and civilised part of the world with a high quality of life even if they are living in another country,” the prime minister said.

Political leaders have a responsibility to make Hungary a country that is free of migrants or terrorism but has public safety, Orbán said. “I have certain ideas as to how Hungary can be made into a high-ranking country in Europe in terms of the quality of life, and we are not as far from achieving this as some might think.”

When asked whether accepting a certain amount of migrants could help Hungary overcome its labour shortage, Orbán said the “more logical” way to solve the problem would be by increasing birth rates. “A nation that pins its survival on admitting migrants will ultimately not survive because such a country will gradually feel less responsibility for sustaining its own population, and migrants will eventually end up making the country their own.”

The prime minister noted that Hungary’s population is currently in decline with the death rate outstripping the number of births, but added that each year Hungary takes a step towards stopping the decline. He noted that the birth rate in 2015 was up by 0.2 percent compared to 2014.