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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Interview with BILD Zeitung<u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">13 September 2015 </span></b><b><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><img style="width: 6.25in; height: 3.125in;" id="m_-6105004179042889125Kép_x0020_3" src="cid:image001.png@01D9A943.963D6810" class="gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex="0" width="600" height="300"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://2010-2015.miniszterelnok.hu/in_english_article/prime_minister_viktor_orban_s_interview_with_bild_zeitung" target="_blank">https://2010-2015.miniszterelnok.hu/in_english_article/prime_minister_viktor_orban_s_interview_with_bild_zeitung</a><u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">English
translation of the article published on Saturday by BILD Zeitung under
the title Darum baut Ungarn einen Zaun gegen Flüchtlinge. <u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">English translation of the article published on Saturday by BILD Zeitung under the title<span style="background:white"> </span><a href="https://msg.gov.hu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=5TtzYefo1ZbK9DhsAbBisxrMqxIsbyHAkeyUVIwcHNwswuBye7zSCGgAdAB0AHAAOgAvAC8AdwB3AHcALgBiAGkAbABkAC4AZABlAC8AcABvAGwAaQB0AGkAawAvAGEAdQBzAGwAYQBuAGQALwB2AGkAawB0AG8AcgAtAG8AcgBiAGEAbgAvAGQAYQByAHUAbQAtAGIAYQB1AHQALQB1AG4AZwBhAHIAbgAtAGUAaQBuAGUAbgAtAHoAYQB1AG4ALQBnAGUAZwBlAG4ALQBmAGwAdQBlAGMAaAB0AGwAaQBuAGcAZQAtADQAMgA1ADQANAA0ADAAMgAuAGIAaQBsAGQALgBoAHQAbQBsACUAMwBDAGIAcgAlADIAMAAvACUAMwBFAA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.bild.de%2fpolitik%2fausland%2fviktor-orban%2fdarum-baut-ungarn-einen-zaun-gegen-fluechtlinge-42544402.bild.html%253Cbr%2520%2f%253E" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(34,42,53);background:white">Darum baut Ungarn einen Zaun gegen Flüchtlinge</span></a><span style="background:white">.</span><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">BILD: Prime Minister, what did you feel when you saw the photo of the dead little boy on the beach in Kos? (sic)</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">It
was a shocking experience; all loss of human life is a tragedy. But I
also thought about the boy’s parents: they set off from a safe refugee
camp outside Syria and risked both their own lives and the lives of
their children. We must make it clear to them that we cannot assume
responsibility for the dangers that await them on the trip to Europe.
For this reason, it would be better if they didn’t come.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Do you have sympathy for the refugees?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Of course I do, all Christians feel sympathy for them. But this sympathy is not enough. We must act.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">But you say that the refugee crisis is a “German problem” – What is Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mistake, do you think?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">The
German Chancellor always does everything right – this is the first
paragraph of the Hungarian constitution. (Laughter) But we must have a
serious talk about the consequences of the German decision allowing
migrants to enter Germany. That statement caused a revolt in Hungary.
Migrants broke out of their places of accommodation and attacked the
police. They refused to be registered as laid down in EU law.
Previously, our authorities had been keeping the situation under control
– albeit with great difficulty. But then the German government
announced that it would be “temporarily” suspending EU regulations, and
chaos broke out in Hungary. This is what happens when rules are not
followed.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Hungary
didn’t bother about the rules so much in 1989. Thousands of East German
citizens were allowed to cross the border into Austria and the Iron
Curtain fell. Why isn’t that possible today?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">There
is an important difference: the refugees from East Germany were not in
Hungary illegally; there was no question that they were being provided
with official accommodation at the West German Embassy. They were being
cared for there, and they waited. They did not totally disregard
Hungarian law. After that the Hungarians opened their own border. Today,
it is illegal immigrants who are breaking across our borders. The fence
of communism was directed against us. The fence we are currently
constructing is meant to serve us.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">How do you feel as Europe’s leading villain? Do you still want to oppose the rest of the continent?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">All
I can say is that “Here I stand; I can do no other”. We Hungarians are
Europeans, and we have signed a contract with Europe which means that we
must guarantee that European citizens can move freely and that our
borders are secure. This is what we have stuck to throughout. Those
people now coming to Hungary are being doubly tricked: on the one hand
by human traffickers, and on the other by certain European politicians.
Both are promising them a better life, and that they will be able to
stay here – even when there is once again peace in their country of
origin. But they will see that the honey that flows in Germany is a
little less sweet than they had hoped. They will also realise that their
standard of living depends on their performance, and not on the demands
they make.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Have you seen the squalor at Budapest’s Keleti Station personally?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">I have been there, but I didn’t go into the station itself.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">A
selfie with refugees like the one Chancellor Merkel recently took at a
refugee centre in Berlin would perhaps be impossible there?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Yes,
well, I’m probably not a favourite among the immigrants, but I don’t
judge my policies according to the exposure time of a photograph either.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Would you take in a family of refugees?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Yes,
if it didn’t encourage other refugees to come here to Europe. That
wouldn’t be a good idea today. My wife and children are taking action,
and are committed to help, however.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Hungary’s borders will be closed next Tuesday. Where should all the refugees go?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Back.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Back to where?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">To
where they came from. Because these migrants have not arrived in
Hungary directly from war zones, but from refugee camps in countries
bordering Syria: from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. They were safe there.
So these people are not fleeing danger – they have already fled
successfully from that – and have no need to worry for their safety any
more. These people are not coming to Europe because they seek safety,
but because they want a better life than that in the refugee camps. They
want to live a German life, or perhaps a Swedish life. The standard of
living they could have in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary or Austria
is not enough for them. On a personal level I can understand that, but
the fact is that there is no fundamental right to a better life, only to
safety and human dignity.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Nevertheless, many European heads of government want to accept immigrants…</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Europe’s
leading politicians are currently living in a dream world. They have no
idea of the actual dangers that immigrants mean to us. Nor about the
magnitude of the problem, because we are talking about millions and
millions of people. There is an endless supply – from Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Mali, Ethiopia, Nigeria. If we let them all in, Europe will
be in ruins.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">So what should Europe do?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">We
have a plan, which we will present to Europe’s other heads of
government at our next meeting. Part of the plan includes providing
massive funding to countries bordering Syria. These include Turkey,
Lebanon and Jordan. Turkey itself is performing exceptionally well with
regard to the refugee crisis. We in Europe should in fact hold a Mass
for President Erdogan every week, regardless of whatever political
viewpoints there are. We must not abandon states like Turkey, and we
must not be miserly.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">What does this mean, exactly?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">I
recommend that every Member State contributes an extra one per cent to
the EU budget. Parallel with this, expenditure on other goals should be
reduced by one per cent. This would generate a total of some 3 billion
euros, with which we can provide financial support to the countries
neighbouring Syria. And if we require more money, we can increase aid
until the flow of immigrants subsides. Since a rapid solution is
required, this is a process which would prevent us from arguing
indefinitely about budget-related issues.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">What about the refugees who are already here in Europe?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">We mustn’t fool ourselves. None of them want to go home. They will all remain here, I’m afraid.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">What
is your opinion about the idea that these people who are already here
in Europe should be distributed among the countries of the European
Union according to a quota system?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">There
are two arguments against this. Firstly, refugee quotas only make sense
if borders are secure. Until then, no government can have any idea
about how many people need to be distributed, because their numbers will
be constantly increasing. And secondly: can we really prevent migrants
from travelling to where they want to go? Should we chain them up in
Europe’s capitals, so they don’t go back to Germany? Who can really keep
them in Estonia, Slovenia or Portugal, if they want to go to Germany?
It's an illusion to think they won't.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Will
you continue to stand by your “no” vote on quotas, even if the European
Union threatens a fine or the introduction of sanctions?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">My
confident opinion is that nobody has ever been punished for upholding
EU law. Instead of trying to find a solution in quotas, Brussels should
be putting more pressure on Greece, because for years now the European
Union’s external borders haven’t been protected there. If Greece had
been fulfilling its obligations, this whole immigration crisis wouldn’t
exist – not in Berlin, or in Budapest. But ultimately this is what makes
us European: we would like to be decent people, both towards the poor
Greeks, and towards the multitude of refugees. Except we do not want to
face the consequences.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Does one of the dangers you are warning about include “Islamisation”?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">I
personally have great respect for Islam. Without Islamic philosophy,
part of the world would have fallen prey to barbarism centuries ago. But
once again, we mustn’t fool ourselves: immigration would lead to a
majority Muslim population in Europe within the foreseeable future. If
Europe allows cultures to compete, then the Christians will find
themselves on the losing side. These are facts. The only way out for
those who want to preserve Europe as a Christian culture is not to allow
more and more Muslims into Europe. But this is something that Europe’s
leading politicians are unwilling to talk about.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Do you believe there is a chance of putting an end to the cause of the refugee crisis: the civil war in Syria?</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">The
West is just as much party to the outbreak of the war as is the Arab
world and other states. We will only succeed in finding a solution to
the conflict if all parties involved are determined to put a stop to
this war’s barbarism. This alliance primarily requires the “big boys”
(i.e. the United States and Russia) to come to a compromise. But Europe,
the Arab states and China will have their own opinions too.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">The original German version of the article is available <a href="http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/viktor-orban/darum-baut-ungarn-einen-zaun-gegen-fluechtlinge-42544402.bild.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(34,42,53)">here</span></a>.</span></i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(34,42,53)">Prime Minister's Office</span></i></p>
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