Strasbourg, 19/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - Appearing before the plenary assembly to justify his vague references to the death penalty and his controversial public consultation on immigration, the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, failed to appease the concerns of the European Parliament, in Strasbourg on Tuesday 19 May, preferring to pursue his policy of provocation before an incredulous hemicycle.
“Hungary is the member state which has been examined most frequently on the rule of law: public order and immigration are very important subjects of common interest to us all. The Hungarians shoot straight from the hip when it comes to difficult subjects. When we discuss the death penalty and immigration, we are frank and we believe that there is no place for political correctness. We want to be frank when we wish to say that Europe is still the continent of Europeans and Hungary the country of Hungarians”, was Orban's opening gambit, speaking after the leaders of the political groups, who all criticised the Hungarian prime minister, with the exception of the EPP (to which group his party, Fidesz, is affiliated) and the ECR.
On immigration, Orban created controversy by speaking out against the recent Commission proposal to resolve the migratory crisis in the Mediterranean. “We need to distinguish between freedom of movement and immigration, between economic migrants and asylum seekers. Unfortunately, in Hungary, we cannot give jobs to all these immigrants. Hungary has every reason to act. The Commission's proposal is absurd, bordering on madness. We believe that it is highly dangerous”, he said. “Immigration is a mass challenge. Compared to 2010, immigration has increased threefold, twentyfold if you count illegal immigration. The member states have to be able to protect their borders. All quotas will do is bring even more people to Europe. This is an open invitation to traffickers and smugglers, I think that the member states should be given the option to decide for themselves. We are a Christian country. Hungary needs to protect its borders. We do not wish to become a destination country for illegal immigrants”, Orban went on, stressing that when it comes to asylum applications, Hungary is number two in terms of GDP per head of population.
On the death penalty, Orban defended his position. “Let's not bury our heads in the sand. It is not a question of the death penalty, but of the freedom of expression. We should be able to discuss the death penalty. It's a matter of rules created by man and not by God, man can change them. Opinions (on the death penalty) are a matter for the individual citizen. We are in favour of the freedom of thought. And this is something we will fight for”, the head of the Hungarian government concluded.
“There is no divine commandment in the treaties of the EU, but if you want a commandment, how about thou shalt not kill”, retorted the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz.
Previously, the vice-president of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, had repeated the threats of President Jean-Claude Juncker, should Orban stick to his guns over wanting to reopen the debate on the death penalty in his country. Under the rule of law mechanism, the Commission can launch preventative proceedings against a member state committing to legislation which runs counter to European values. As a last resort, this mechanism can trigger Article 7 of the Treaty, which provides for voting rights at the Council of the EU to be suspended. (Emmanuel Hagry)