Hungary to close some migrant reception centres, but two new migrant centres will open

Budapest, March 17 (MTI) – Apart from two tent camps to be set up near Hungary’s western border, the government will close all open and guarded refugee camps in the country, national daily Magyar Nemzet said on Thursday.

In addition to the migrant reception centres of Nagyfa, Kiskunhalas, Békéscsaba and Nyírbátor located close to the southern or eastern borders, the government will close the facilities operating in Bicske and Vámosszabadi, both in northern Hungary, the paper said.

“We need no more than two reception centres, the ones in Szentgotthárd and Körmend,” ruling Fidesz parliamentary leader Lajos Kósa told the paper, adding that all the southern camps are being emptied.

On Wednesday, Parliament adjourned a debate over migration because lawmakers wanted to wait and see whether the EU summit, to start on Thursday, will reach any agreement, Kósa said.

The opposition Jobbik party addressed the issue saying that it does not want reception centres in Körmend or Szentgotthárd either. In a statement, the party accused ruling Fidesz of “migration double talk” saying that Fidesz speaks out against migration while it sets up refugee camps across the country, ignoring the opinions of local residents.

The opposition Együtt party said it would be a mistake to close Hungary’s refugee camps. Viktor Szigetvári, the party’s leader, told MTI in a statement that the camps, despite being full, are still operating as they are supposed to. Szigetvári said the plan to close the camps indicates that the government would continue to obstruct the European Union in finding a solution to the migrant crisis. By closing the camps, the government is serving the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin by deepening the migrant crisis and thereby weakening the European Union, Szigetvári said.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters