The Orban government "tried to make maximum political profit" from "consistently keeping the fight on the agenda for years", Magyar said, that "Orban sought to position himself as the Jeanne D'Arc of that fight, both in Hungary and in Europe".

Magyar also noted that the Court of Justice of the European Union fined Hungary for 200 million euros and a further one million euros per day until the Hungary implemented a ruling concerning transit zones.

While the Orban government "kept denying that it would implement the decision, the government discussed its implementation in summer 2024, one of the tasks being to build a migrant reception centre," he said.

By now the fine has amounted to around one billion euros, a total "Hungarians will have to pay because the Orban government had been unable to pass legislation that would keep illegal migrants out of the country and which would also be in line with European law," Magyar said.

"Despite lies by the previous government, such a solution exists, for example in Poland and Finland, and the (incumbent) government is working to draft legislation to ensure that there are no migrant camps in Hungary and the country should no longer have to pay the daily one million euro fine," the prime minister said.

At the press conference, the prime minister showed a video in which politicians of the then-ruling Fidesz party denied press reports concerning plans for a migrant camp at Vitnyed, in western Hungary.

Quoting from the minutes of government sessions held in 2024, Magyar said that there were suggestions concerning the necessity of reopening transit zones and using properties in Vitnyed for the purpose. 

"In one of the later summaries there are details on how the government should do it, while they kept communicating that they would not implement the court's decision," he said.

The previous government also instructed the interior minister to make investments to enable the facilities in Vitnyed to accommodate migrants, while "Viktor Orban has claimed that they never planned, in no circumstances, to set up migrant camps," Magyar said.

Simultaneously with those plans, the former government also called on Transcarpathian Hungarian refugees from Ukraine, who had been accommodated in the Vitnyed complex, to vacate the premises "voluntarily or they would be sent back to Ukraine," the prime minister said.

"Viktor Orban and his government would spend five billion forints in taxpayers' funds to implement their secretive plan for the migrant camp without extra costs," Magyar said.

According to the prime minister, the Orban government had also been planning "to escalate the political conflict concerning illegal migration before the 2026 election.

Details of the plans for the Vitnyed camp are included in minutes dated Sept 11, 2024 for the last time, then "the matter disappears" until press reports on police guarding the premises, he said.

He noted that he had held a press conference on the subject in September 2024, after which the government "went into continuous denial".

On Sept 24, 2024, the leader of Austria's Burgenland province "threatened to close the Hungarian border for fear of the Vitnyed facility would serve to help refugees cross into Austria," Magyar said.

Meanwhile, prominent politicians of the Fidesz party, including government officials "kept lying, for example that the complex would be utilised as a summer camp for students," he insisted.

Ahead of Fidesz's Saturday congress, the prime minister asked "is renewal possible with such characters; don't you feel cheated"?

He said the Vitnyed issue was "at least as or even more serious" than the paedophile pardon scandal and "shows the falseness of Fidesz's communication at a symbolic point … Fidesz has always been proud of its fight against illegal migration and against Brussels; it was the basis for their campaign against political rivals - but it has irreversibly fallen apart as the documents came to light".

Magyar said he would ask Fidesz's MPs questions on the subject on Monday, adding that "I hope they will come up with some explanation; if they can't, I suggest that they don't come in at all".

The prime minister suggested that the former government's releasing over 2,200 human smugglers from custody would also be discussed. He said the government had had "no legal opportunity to release human traffickers from prison … by way of a government decree.

The Tisza government is not planning to set up migrant camps or transit zones in Hungary, the prime minister said, adding that the government would come up with a way "to meet the Brussels ruling while having no migrants in the country".

The matter would be subject to a social dialogue as well as discussed at expert level. The government is seeking an early solution "so that Hungary could stop paying a daily one million euros," he said.

The government will not publish the minutes of all sessions of the previous cabinet but will share "as many documents as possible with the public", Magyar said, adding that "an important and sensitive subject, on which the previous government built its policies for over ten years has clearly turned out to be a hoax".

Answering a question, the prime minister did not exclude the possibility of setting up an ad-hoc parliamentary committee to investigate the matter.

Concerning the EU Migration Pact, Magyar said that apart from accommodating asylum seeker or making financial contributions, member countries could also provide technical or other assistance, which is "the only option for Hungary".

He noted that the Orban government had taken that option and provided technical assistance in border control to such countries as Greece or Serbia. "This is a viable option," he added.

Photo: police.hu

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

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