EUROPE-MIGRANTS/ORBAN Hungary's Orban says migrants seeking "German life" are not refugees

Record ID: 141650

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/ORBAN Hungary's Orban says migrants seeking "German life" are not refugees
  • Date: 7th September 2015
  • Summary: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (SEPTEMBER 7, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PARLIAMENT IN DISTANCE EXTERIOR OF FOREIGN MINISTRY HUNGARIAN AND EU FLAGS ON FACADE HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN ENTERING AMBASSADORS' CONFERENCE MEDIA, AMBASSADORS AND ORBAN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, SAYING: "Those who get to Hungary are in safety, they are not running for their lives any longer. If they want to continue on from Hungary it's because they want something else. Those who get into Austria and run towards Germany are not running for their lives any longer, their lives are not in danger but they want something different. We have to face the reality that these people do not simply want a refugee status, they want a refugee status in Germany and this is a big difference. They have taken a fancy to German life. They could live a Macedonian, Turkish, Greek or Hungarian life but they do not want to, they want a German life - that's why they want to go there. This has nothing to do with safety, and has nothing to do with the moral responsibility for the people running for their lives. This is why we do not regard them as refugees but as immigrants. We understand them, the German life is surely better." ORBAN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, SAYING: "It's absurd - just think about it, when the Germans say they will spend billions on providing for the new arrivals instead of giving the money to the countries around the crisis zone, where they (migrants) should be stopped in the first place. It would be better for everyone. They wouldn't come here. It would cost less. And our approach couldn't be called into question morally either." AMBASSADORS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, SAYING: "It would make much more sense if the EU established a fund, some sources say such funds do exist, from which, in agreement with countries that are important to us, such as Turkey, we could provide support to deal with the problem of refugees in those countries." MEDIA AND AMBASSADORS (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, SAYING: "We insist that since we signed the Schengen Agreement we will stick to it. The problem is that at the moment we are unable to do so. The Hungarian state should be in a position that if we say that from tomorrow morning our borders can only be crossed according to the rules at the designated border crossings then we should be able to implement that." AMBASSADOR LISTENING ORBAN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, SAYING: "The Hungarian stance is not against the quota. The Hungarian stance does not rule out that at some point in the future it will be possible to discuss it in a fair way. We have problem with the timing. As the Americans say first things first….As long as Europe cannot protect its external borders it makes no sense to discuss the fate of those flowing in." AMBASSADORS CLAPPING ORBAN CHATTING
  • Embargoed: 22nd September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Hungary
  • Country: Hungary
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA2KKKUF6L0XW93F6NMIGO0KLUA
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The large numbers of people now seeking sanctuary in Europe should be seen as immigrants, not as refugees, because they are seeking a "German life" and refuse to stay in the first safe country they reach, Hungary's prime minister said on Monday (September 7).
    Viktor Orban, a right-wing populist whose robust handling of the migrant crisis has drawn both condemnation and praise, also said the European Union should consider providing financial support to countries such as Turkey which are near to the conflict zones so that migrants stay there and do not move on.
    Syrians, Iraqis and others entering Greece, Macedonia, Serbia or Hungary are safe in those countries and, in line with EU rules, should have their asylum applications processed there, Orban told a gathering of Hungarian diplomats in Budapest.
    "Those who get to Hungary are in safety, they are not running for their lives any longer. If they want to continue on from Hungary it's because they want something else," he said, adding that the migrants' target was Germany and a "German life", not physical safety.
    "This has nothing to do with safety, and has nothing to do with the moral responsibility for the people running for their lives. This is why we do not regard them as refugees but as immigrants," he said.
    The vast majority of migrants reaching Hungary aim to travel on to Germany and other wealthier western European countries. A Bavarian official said Germany expected about 2,500 refugees to arrive by early afternoon on Monday after some 20,000 came in over the weekend.
    Left unchecked, this inflow will place an impossible financial burden on the EU, Orban said, endangering what he called Europe's "Christian welfare states". He has previously said the arrival of large numbers of mostly Muslim migrants posed a threat to Europe's Christian culture and values.
    Orban said money would be better spent supporting countries near conflict zones to help them deal with the refugee influx.
    "It's absurd - just think about it, when the Germans say they will spend billions on providing for the new arrivals instead of giving the money to the countries around the crisis zone, where they (migrants) should be stopped in the first place," he said.
    "It would be better for everyone. They wouldn't come here. It would cost less. And our approach couldn't be called into question morally either," he added.
    Europe's worst migration crisis since the Balkan wars of the 1990s has led many of the continent's leaders to call for a quota system to distribute refugees among the EU's 28 member states - an idea that Orban has opposed.
    While Hungary would remain part of the EU's passport-free 'Schengen zone', Orban said discussion of a quota system was premature, even if Hungary was not against it in principle.
    "We insist that since we signed the Schengen Agreement we will stick to it. The problem is that at the moment we are unable to do so," Orban said.
    "As long as Europe cannot protect its external borders it makes no sense to discuss the fate of those flowing in," he said, adding that he did not rule out a "fair" discussion of quotas at a later stage.
    He defended a planned package of laws that would allow the army to be deployed to defend Hungary's southern border, which he added was being threatened by being overwhelmed.
    Orban said he hoped the measures would succeed in "hermetically sealing" the border, with people crossing at official crossing points only.
    Legislation to use the army in helping to protect borders would not be possible before September 20, he added.
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