Hungary’s anti-mass immigration Prime Minister has said that terrorists have “exploited mass migration” and the European Union (EU) is “weak, uncertain and paralyzed” in its response to the migrant crisis.
Speaking to the Hungarian parliament on Monday, Viktor Orban said that the EU plan to force member countries to take a compulsory quota of migrants is unlawful and will “spread terrorism around Europe.”
“As long as this government breathes, there will be no quotas and we will not take in any refugees,” Mr Orban said.
Mr Orban added that no one could be certain how many terrorists entered through the migrant crisis, but “one terrorist is too many.”
The Hungarian Prime Minister also said the EU needs to “forget political correctness … and return to common sense” by adopting tighter border controls, as well as protecting its culture and its economic interests.
Ordinary people must have the right to influence EU decisions, he added, saying: “The right of Europeans to defend themselves” is the “most powerful, compared to other rights.”
Hungary has built razor-wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia to divert the flow of migrants. These fences have proved so secure that the number of migrants in Hungary has dropped dramatically to pre-crisis levels.
In September, when the border was closed, up 10,000 migrants a day crossed illegally into Hungary, but now that figure has fallen to just dozens.
The policy has proved so successful that other European nations are considering building their own fences, including Austria which was initially highly critical of Mr Orban’s policy.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has also strongly criticised European leaders for failing to protect their borders.
Speaking at the Second Annual Margaret Thatcher Gala dinner in the City of London, Mr Abbott said:
“All countries that say ‘anyone who gets here can stay here’ are now in peril, given the scale of the population movements that are starting to be seen. There are tens, perhaps hundreds, of millions of people living in poverty and danger who might readily seek to enter a Western country if the opportunity is there.
“Who could blame them? Yet no country or continent can open its borders to all comers without fundamentally weakening itself. This is the risk countries of Europe now run through misguided altruism.”
Additional reporting by AP