Lázár: Scandinavians begin proceedings against Hungary
MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák
Just a day before the EU summit in Bratislava started last week, four Scandinavian countries – Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland – launched a legal procedure against Hungary for the latterʼs refusal to take back refugees from their countries, Hungary’s Cabinet Chief János Lázár said over the weekend, as reported by local daily Magyar Nemzet today.
Cabinet Chief János Lázár. Photo: MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák
Sweden, Germany and Austria have already hinted that they are planning to send refugees back to Hungary, which Lázár interpreted as a sign of the failure to make a decision at the EU summit in connection with the refugee crisis, according to the report.
Lázár said in connection with the summit that although leaders had established that border defenses need to be strengthened, this does not necessarily guarantee that fewer migrants will arrive in Europe, Hungarian online daily index.hu reported today, citing the Magyar Nemzet interview. The minister was reported as claiming that the direction of the Visegrád Four countries with respect to the refugee crisis is the essence of the situation, and that the V4 countries are in agreement on the planned measures to be taken.
At the same time, Magyar Nemzet questioned the unity of the V4 countries on the issue, noting that Slovak President Andrej Kiska chastised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for cynically simplifying the complex problems of the refugee crisis and exploiting the upcoming referendum on October 2 for his own domestic political goals.
Lázár: Brussels should watch referendum closely
While admitting that the ratio of Eurosceptics in Hungarian society is growing, Lázár said the majority of Hungarians believe that Hungary is better off as a member of the European Union, index.hu reported. Commenting on the referendum scheduled to be held on October 2 on the EU’s planned refugee quota, Lázár said that if Hungarians decide to oppose the quota in the referendum, he does not fear this being the potential first step towards exiting the bloc.
Lázár stressed that if the referendum ends with Hungarians voting in opposition to the quota, Brussels will have to take the result into consideration, index.hu reported. Lázár emphasized that the referendum “should not be underestimated, as it is the first chance for Hungarians to express their opinion about the immigration policy of Brussels.”
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