Under the rules, periphery states are free to set the rules of entry into the EU’s territory, he added.

The minister told the committee that a total of 287,383 people have entered Hungary illegally so far this year, most of them crossing from Serbia.

He said illegal migrants are still being registered on the Serbian border, but not on the Croatian one, as the government “will assume” that the migrants coming from that EU member state were already registered. Pintér said the Croatian government had indicated that it was “fully prepared” to register the migrants.

The minister said migrants who have been registered in Hungary could later be sent back, noting that western European countries want to send back more than 30,000 people, in line with the Dublin Agreement.

Answering a question by Socialist lawmaker Tamás Harangozó, Pintér said the fence had to be installed to protect Hungary’s border and was a matter of national security.

He added that the government was constantly monitoring the clashes between police and migrants at the Röszke border crossing with Serbia in order to avoid any violations of the law.

Responding to questions from Ágnes Vadai and Timea Szabó, who represent the opposition, the minister said the incident at Röszke did not hurt the freedom of the press, adding that proceedings have not been launched against any of the reporters who were at the scene.

Committee head Lajos Kósa told reporters after the session that the fence on the Hungarian-Serbian border has lived up to expectations and that only a few people still try to enter Hungary through the “green” border with Serbia.

He said transit zones at the border crossing points are open, meaning that anyone entering Hungary from Serbia who wants to submit an asylum application can notify the authorities at the border station.

He said that most of the illegal migrants are now entering Hungary from Croatia, making it necessary to install a fence along that border as well.

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