Authorities in Hungary have revealed that the illegal border crossing attempts on average per day currently is 319, compared to 97 in the same period one year earlier.
The increase in the number of persons who attempt to enter Hungary in an unlawful way has led the Head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás, to urge the EU authorities to cover at least one part of the costs of the country’s border fence, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to MTI, the Prime Minister also stressed that migration pressure on European countries is growing, and it’s expected to keep increasing.
“It would be nice if the European Commission switched from supporting migration to supporting the protection of external borders because if we don’t want Europe to be destabilised during the pandemic and the economic recovery, then we need effective border protection, which requires proper European approval,” he said.
In addition, he stressed that the pressure of migration is increasing as a result of the current situation in Afghanistan and Belarus.
“At the time being, the European Commission is unfortunately on the side of migration,” he pointed out.
SchengenVisaInfo.com previously reported that about 7,300 Afghans filed an application for international protection during July, marking a 21 per cent increase in the number of applications compared to June figures.
On the other hand, recently, the European Union leaders have accused the President of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, of causing turmoil within the zone.
When asked by the EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson’s comments supporting migration, Gulyás stressed that every country should decide whether it had a need for migrants.
“Hungary has always been tolerant and doesn’t think it should tell other member states how they should decide on the issue of migration,” he said.
In a bid to tighten the control of the EU’s Schengen borders in southern Hungary, previously, a total of 50 Czech Republic’s police officers arrived in the Central European country.
In this regard, the Deputy of the National Police Chief, János Kuczik, previously stressed that protecting the southern borders offers security in the whole of Europe.
Kuczik revealed that while 7,000 people attempted to enter Hungary illegally in 2019, the number increased to 46,000 during last year. Besides, the number of people who attempted to enter Hungary in the first nine months of this year reached 90,000.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán previously stressed that 4,500 officers are protecting the fence in this country, making it among the biggest expenses in the country’s law enforcement budget.
Orbán highlighted that the European Union did not offer any financial help to this country in order to cover these costs.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
