On Wednesday 3 November, the European Commission reiterated its position on using the European budget for the financing of anti-migrant walls or fences, and restated that it was not in the tradition of the institution to finance such measures. “The President, Ursula von der Leyen, made herself very clear on 22 October”, said spokesperson Adalbert Jahnz, referring to the President’s response to a letter from 12 Member States calling for EU funds to be used for these measures (see EUROPE 12818/1, 12808/8).
On 2 November, the Commission received another letter from the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who again asked Ms von der Leyen to reflect on these external border protection measures and the cost they currently represent for national budgets.
“The hybrid uses of migration stemming from Belarus, as well as the disastrous evacuation of security forces from Afghanistan, may potentially bring forth an even more severe crisis than what we have witnessed in 2015. I believe that the only reason behind the fragile stability that we currently have in the EU is the fact that Hungary, together with other Member States, successfully protects the external borders of our Union. To date, Hungary alone has spent more than 590 billion forint from its national budget on border protection”, writes the Hungarian leader.
“In 2021, in addition to Hungary, physical border barriers have been constructed in, or are being built in, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. The recent migration situation has shown not only that physical barriers are one of the most effective types of border protection tools, but also that in some situations they are essential for combating hybrid attacks. All this justifies the arguments and funding demands that Hungary has long been stating.”
Link to the letter: https://bit.ly/2ZNhSr2 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)