Germany Orban makes migration the focus of Hungary's Council Presidency

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to make the topic of migration a focus of his country's upcoming EU Council Presidency. He welcomes the position of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to consider outsourcing asylum procedures to countries outside the EU, Orban told the Funke Mediengruppe newspaper (Sunday). Hungary takes over the EU presidency from Belgium on July 1.

Orban pointed out that Hungary had already created "external hotspots". These are centers outside of Hungary where asylum applications are examined. "If migrants want to come to Hungary, they must first go to a Hungarian embassy, for example in the Serbian capital Belgrade. All papers are checked there. Only if the Hungarian authorities give the green light can migrants enter the country. Otherwise not."

Nine years after the refugee crisis of 2015, it turned out that he had been right with his warnings at the time, Orban said. "People, you can do what you want, it's your national decision. But you should bear in mind that you are taking a huge risk if you open your borders to illegal migration," he said at the time. "Let's wait and see what German or French society looks like in 10, 15 or 20 years' time. If that turns out to be positive, the Hungarians can also think about it."