The “pro-migration majority” in Brussels has “forced” the proposal on migrant visas through the European Parliament, Balázs Hidvéghi, the Fidesz party’s communications chief, has said. Their aim, the ruling party official told public media, was to “import even more migrants into Europe”.
In a vote on Tuesday, the proposal was accepted with 429 votes in favour, 194 against and 41 abstentions. The resolution concerns the creation of a visa for migrants making asylum requests at EU embassies in countries outside the bloc. The visa would allow asylum seekers to enter the EU so they can submit their requests for asylum.
Hidvéghi said the visa, which was rejected in a vote in November before being re-submitted, “brought a favourable result this time round for … the pro-migration majority in the EP.” “It seems when it comes to migration issues, Brussels will call for votes again and again until they get an outcome which suits them”. “The procedure is unacceptable and anti-democratic, as is the idea of the migrant visa itself,” he said.
The resolution calls on the European Commission to propose, before the EP elections in May, a legal way for migrants to enter the EU, Hidvéghi noted. The decision “basically opens the gates to masses of economic migrants”, he added.
Other pro-migration proposals are also on the agenda, Hidvéghi noted. One concerns distributing anonymous debit cards to migrants and another, the establishment of a “Brussels agency organising migration that would interfere with the asylum procedures of member states.” Yet another would “redirect funds” from central European states to “pro-migration Soros organisations”, he said, referring to the billionaire George Soros. There’s also a plan to allocate 520 million euros from the 2019 budget for migrant resettlements, he said. The “pro-migration Brussels elite” is not even trying to hide its goal of cementing current migration policy before the EP election, he said. In Fidesz’s view, it is anti-democratic to make such decisions without canvassing people for their opinion beforehand, he said. Any moves concerning migration should be postponed until after the EP election, he said.
Fidesz MEPs said in a statement that “today’s decision is dangerous because it strips member states of their rights [in this area], with the aim of fast-tracking migrants into the EU”.
Socialist MEP István Ujhelyi said that he disagreed with the EP procedure as well as with some parts of the report, and abstained from the vote. The decision, he argued, would “increase the burden on diplomatic representations disproportionately”.
Péter Niedermüller, MEP of the leftist Democratic Coalition, said he was baffled by the government’s objection to the proposal as it aimed to stem illegal migration, and “as such is fully in line with the Hungarian government’s goals”.