Hungarian State Secretary Bence Rétvàri stepped up the threat last week by posing in front of buses bearing the sign “Röszke-Brüsszel”, named after a crossing point on the Balkan migration route on the Hungarian-Serbian border. He promised them “a free one-way ticket to Brussels.”
A video of this press conference sparked a wave of indignation in Belgium on Monday. The country will not grant access to migrant transports “that are being used in this way”, reacted the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor. For his part, the Mayor of Brussels Philippe Close asked Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden to block these buses at the border.
Bouchez and Close clash: “Hungary is right to show this right-thinking left the real effects of its policy”
The European Commission has also expressed its outrage. “This is unacceptable,” said spokesperson Anitta Hipper. “This would violate European law and the principle of loyal cooperation. What is more, it would undermine the very functioning of the Schengen area as a whole, where the freedom of movement of people is guaranteed as a matter of principle.”
The Commission says it is in contact with Hungary to ensure that the threat will not be carried out. It has also contacted countries on Hungary’s route to Brussels. “We stand ready to ensure, with all the powers at our disposal, that the legislation is respected,” the spokesperson added, without giving further details.
Hungary offers migrants ‘one-way’ bus ticket to Brussels: ‘pure provocation, we will do everything to block them at the border’
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