Hungary is taking a big burden off Germany’s shoulders by preventing anyone who enters Hungary from sidestepping the law, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a press conference held jointly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after talks in Berlin on Thursday.
Orban said Hungary had built a fence along its southern border to “regain control over its own territory”. He said a legal dispute was emerging around claims that the first point of entry for migrants to the EU was not Hungary but Greece, adding Hungary’s standpoint is that Germany should send migrants back to Greece. “We’re ready for that long-term dispute,” he said.
Meeting of Viktor #Orban and Angela #Merkel in #Berlin . Focus on #migration . Merkel wants to show herself stronger with this meeting, but Orban is in a stronger situation now. Photos by MTI pic.twitter.com/wYNpfbvVoS
— Nótin Tamás (@tamasnotin) July 5, 2018
He said Hungary felt wronged to be accused of lacking a sense of solidarity when it went to great lengths to protect the EU’s southern border. Fully 8,000 armed people protect the southern border 24 hours a day. Migrants would immediately make their way to Germany otherwise, he added. Every day, 4,000-5,000 migrants would arrive in Germany were there no effective border controls, Orban said, adding that this amounted to Hungarian solidarity. “Our borders will remain protected in the future, too.” He added that it was a strategic goal for Hungary to “protect Europe so that its internal markets continue to operate smoothly.”
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