Hungary to hold referendum on EU migrant quotas

Hungary’s right-wing government under Viktor Orban is to call a referendum on the European Union’s mandatory quotas on migrants.

The prime minister said the vote, the first of its kind in Europe, would be a major test of European democracy.

The Hungarian government has already rejected the plan under which it would have to take a share of 120,000 migrants to be relocated across the continent.

Orban told a news conference that nobody had asked the European people whether or not they supported mandatory quotas.

“We Hungarians feel, I am convinced that the government is responding to public sentiment now, we think that introducing resettlement quotas for migrants without the backing of the people equals an abuse of power,” the prime minister said.

The Hungarian government has already put up a fence on Hungary’s borders with Serbia and Croatia to keep out the mostly Middle Eastern refugees headed for western Europe.

The policy has now been adopted by other Balkan countries.

Orban has boosted his public support with a tough stance on migration.

No date for the referendum was announced but it’s thought it may take place in the autumn, subject to parliamentary approval.

There was no immediate reaction from the EU executive. The Commission has already launched infringement proceedings against Hungary for breaching the EU’s asylum law.

Commenting on its annual report published on Wednesday, Amnesty International said as well as the “far from satisfactory” situation regarding migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Hungary, many other human rights concerns remained – particularly over discrimination against Roma people.

SOURCE: euronews