Ádám Mirkóczki, an MP of the radical nationalist Jobbik party, said information brought to the meeting justified the government’s plans to build a fence. But he argued for further measures, saying that while the Hungary-Serbia border would be sealed off, human smugglers would seek alternative routes, necessitating increased control along Hungary’s borders with Croatia, Ukraine, and Romania.

Zsolt Molnár, Socialist head of the committee, said that though the planned fence would meet NATO and European Union standards, his party rejects the idea.

Such a structure is “not for Europe”, he insisted.

Bernadett Szél, an LMP member of the committee, said that putting up a fence would be “inhumane”. Nor would it resolve the refugee issue.

The Hungarian government should jointly seek a solution together with other EU members, she insisted.

The spokesman of ruling Fidesz said the opposition Socialists “refuse to see the real problem” and prefer to “side” with the migrants flooding Hungary.

Bence Tuzson spoke in response to a protest staged earlier in the day, in which Socialist politicians fenced off Fidesz headquarters near Budapest’s Heroes’ Square.

Referring to statistics showing that over 50,000 illegal immigrants had already arrived in Hungary this year alone—more than in Italy, and up from a mere 2,000 in 2012—Tuzson insisted that the “single option” to stop that tendency was to build a fence along the border.

He gave warning that while Hungary has so far been a transit country for migrants it could soon be a destination. Most illegal migrants are escorted by human smugglers and a fence along the Serbia border would thwart their activities, he added.

The Fidesz spokesman highlighted the difference between refugees and economic migrants, insisting that legislation defining the concept of a “safe third country” would ensure that entrants from such countries could be returned through a simplified procedure.

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