Europe’s leaders agree on migration

A pro-government columnist describes the decisions taken at the EU summit as a victory for Hungary, while a left-wing analyst worries about the plight of immigrants who will be kept in closed facilities while their applications are processed.

In Magyar Idők, Dávid Megyeri welcomes the principles adopted by the leaders of the 28 member states in Brussels as fully in line with what Hungary has always stood for. They decided in fact to protect Europe’s outer borders and to give up the idea of mandatory migrant relocation. Thus, he explains, the idea of infringement procedures against countries which have resisted compulsory relocation quotas must be dropped. Megyeri hopes that despite bitter efforts by pro-immigration forces, it will now become possible to get rid of the practice of ‘more Europe and more immigration’ and focus on ‘more security and more competitiveness’.

In Népszava, editor Gábor Horváth is worried about the idea of setting up closed camps where asylum seekers will have to wait until their applications are processed. He gives an overview of the history of concentration camps, from the first ones in Cuba up to the Nazi death camps and hints that EU leaders must be conscious of what it means to lock migrants in camps. It is no coincidence, he writes, that instead of “closed’, they call such centres ‘controlled’ in their communique. Nevertheless, Horváth fears that in a few decades from now Europe may well feel ashamed of what it is doing.

Tags: EU, migration, Orbán