Chancellor Merkel criticizes Hungary’s migration policies
July 13th, 2016A conservative commentator dismisses Angela Merkel’s claim that Hungary mistreated migrants.
In an interview with ZDF Public Television on Sunday, Angela Merkel said welcoming a million migrants last year was a moral duty. In an aside, she criticized Hungary for mistreating migrants. She also noted however that illegal migration should be stopped. And she also called for the intra-EU redistribution of migrants.
In Magyar Hírlap, Mariann Őry finds both Chancellor Merkel’s claim to the moral high ground, and her stance towards Hungary unfounded. The pro-government columnist dismisses the accusation that Hungary mistreated migrants, by suggesting that most refused to submit asylum applications in Hungary in their rush to reach western Europe. They did everything to avoid the Hungarian refugee authorities, who could have helped them, she claims. Őry also remarks that the one million refugees in Germany have created security concerns and as a result, Germans are much less welcoming and accommodating than Merkel would suggest. In conclusion, Őry finds one positive development in the German Chancellor’s stance, nonetheless, in that she seems to have finally realized the need to defend Europe’s external borders.