Orban likens EU migration pact to Hungary to being 'legally raped'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Oct 2023 21:20

Orban sparked controversy by likening the EU's adoption of migration legislation to Hungary being subjected to legal rape.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for the 2nd day of the Europe Summit in Granada, Spain, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. European Union leaders have pledged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy their unwavering support (AP Photo/Fermin Rodriguez)

The EU summit on Friday was marred by a heated dispute over proposed changes to migration rules, with Poland and Hungary opposing the inclusion of migration in the joint summit statement.

However, European Council President Charles Michel issued a separate statement on asylum policy and border protection, with France and Germany asserting that the legislative process would proceed as planned.

Despite the division, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized the importance of the agreement reached by interior ministers on crisis regulations.

"The most important thing is what our interior ministers achieved a few weeks ago with the agreement on crisis regulation because that is what is really relevant in political terms," said Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who hosted the summit.

Observers argue that the summit served as a platform for Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Hungary's Viktor Orban to bolster their populist credentials ahead of upcoming elections, with Morawiecki openly rejecting the summit's paragraph on migration.

"I officially REJECT the entire paragraph of the summit conclusions regarding migration," Morawiecki posted on social media.

Orban further sparked controversy by likening the EU's adoption of migration legislation, which received majority approval from member states to Hungary being subjected to legal rape.

Brussels legally raped Poland and Hungary by forcing through the #MigrationPact . So there will be no compromise on migration. Not today, and not in the upcoming years. We will defend our borders from migrants and from the Brussels bureaucrats as well! pic.twitter.com/YRR5IJfQKR
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) October 6, 2023

French President Emmanuel Macron stated that despite their opposition preventing any reference to migration in the final declaration, it would not impact the progress of the proposed bill, which received initial approval from member states on Wednesday.

"The text has caused disagreements between several member states," Macron said, dismissing it as "a secondary issue because the matter is moving forward as it should after being passed by majority".

He added that member states had agreed to strengthen "joint action regarding transit countries and countries of origin."