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February 25, 2016

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Hungary referendum on migrant quota plan

Source: Agencies | February 25, 2016, Thursday | Print Edition

HUNGARY will hold a referendum on EU plans for a system of mandatory quotas, an initiative that Hungary’s government has rejected, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said yesterday.

Orban has used harsh anti-rhetoric since the migrant crisis escalated last year and gained notoriety for erecting a steel fence along Hungary’s southern border to keep out migrants — a policy now adopted by other Balkan countries.

He said the plebiscite, the first of its kind in Europe, would be a major test of European democracy. Orban has said the migrant quotas would redraw the ethnic, cultural and religious map of Hungary and Europe.

“Nobody has asked the European people so far whether they support, accept, or reject the mandatory migrant quotas,” he told media. “The government is responding to public sentiment now: we Hungarians think introducing resettlement quotas for migrants without the backing of the people equals an abuse of power.”

He said he was aware of potential wider ramifications of such a referendum, especially if Hungarians say “No” to quotas.

“We had to think about the potential impact on European politics of such a proposal, but that’s a secondary consideration. To us this is a fundamental, unavoidable, essential question of Hungarian politics: can anyone else decide for Hungarians who we Hungarians should or should not live with?”

Political Capital Institute analyst, Peter Kreko, said: “All in all, we can see that Orban is in a winning position as long as he speaks about migration, as it allows him to play the role of the defender of the nation.”

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