In an interview to public radio, Orbán said the defence of the borders must be fortified and refugee centres must be built outside of the EU. He said Hungarians have demonstrated the greatest solidarity in migrant affairs, only “I did not have the cheek to invoice Brussels for the registration costs of 175,000 migrants ... the extra costs incurred by Hungarian police ... and the costs of building a fence.”

He described the planned referendum on the mandatory migrant quotas as “clear, simple and comprehendible,” adding that he also had an “authorisation to say no” but his word was not worth as much as the word of “ten million Hungarians”.

“We are doing the whole referendum to stop Brussels”, he added. Commenting on former NATO secretary-general Javier Solana’s remarks that were Hungary to apply for EU membership today it would be rejected, Orbán said “we know the former NATO secretary-general” and “he is an old communist”.

Source: www.hungarymatters.hu
Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Máthé Zoltán