The Visegrad Four (V4) grouping of Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic want to scrap the redistribution scheme but the question is whether German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be willing to side with the V4 countries on this matter. “On this we should see eye to eye” on Friday afternoon, Orbán said, referring to the V4 meeting in Warsaw which will be attended by Merkel.

He said the outcome of talks was uncertain, adding that the various positions are not yet known. “Even I haven’t laid all my cards on the table,” he said. Asked what the implications of a victory for the “no” side would be in the Oct. 2 referendum on migrant quotas, Orbán said such a result would mean that there is a nation in Europe making it clear that it does not accept the decision of Brussels bureaucrats.

“So this will not be a bargaining position but rather a final, strong Hungarian stance,” the prime minister said. He said such a result could get other countries to support Hungary’s position, too. In the referendum Hungarians will be asked: “Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of parliament?”

Asked about the Austrian interior minister’s calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in Austria, Orbán said the country should decide instead where it wants to build a border fence. He suggested that instead of trying to secure its border with Hungary, Austria should assist the protection of the Hungarian-Serbian and Hungarian- Croatian borders.

He suggested that central European countries could join forces to protect the Serbian- Macedonian and Macedonian-Greek borders, adding that with the aid of European resources, Greece’s external borders could be secured as well.

Orbán said Austria today faces greater migration pressure on its border with Italy than on the one with Hungary. The prime minister said those who say there is no link between migration and terrorism either “don’t know what they are talking about” or “are trying to deny facts for some reason”.

The Hungarian government’s view is that the reason why terrorism has reared its head in Europe was because hundreds of thousands of people arrived unchecked to the continent from places where the western world is considered an enemy. Regarding Turkey, Orbán said Hungary’s interest lies in a stable Turkish government with a predictable foreign policy and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a stable presidency.

If Turkey weakens then there would not be a single stable country in its region for Europe to negotiate with, he said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

Photo: MTI