Viktor Orban has taken his anti-migration rhetoric up a notch ahead of the European elections.
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Viktor Orban has taken his anti-migration rhetoric up a notch ahead of the European elections.
In a new poster campaign, the Hungarian government has attacked European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for introducing new proposals that “threaten Hungary’s security”.
Despite Orban’s assertions that the EU aims to pass legislation that would make the migration crisis worse, a new report has shown that applications for asylum have fallen significantly. The European Asylum Support Office reported that in 2018 there were only 634 applications for asylum, well below 662 in 2014 before the crisis began.
This issue was the cause of passionate debate on Raw Politics tonight between Livia Jaroka, a Hungarian MEP from Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and Linnea Engstrom, a Swedish MEP from the Greens.
Jaroka began by saying Hungary has taken in over 3,000 refugees from African countries and "nobody in the EU has accepted that many".
"Nobody said they cannot come, they are getting refuge," Jaroka added.
Engstrom responded that Jaroka's statements were "fake news". The Swedish MEP said that the only way to approach the issue was as a united front.
"It's very, very difficult to address someone who is doing this as a European leader when we are a European Union," she added.