Asly camp at the border

Orbán’s plans: Karner announces fierce opposition

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) announces massive resistance to the planned reception camp for illegal migrants on the border with Austria.

(Bild: Christian Schulter, APA)

According to media reports, Hungary's government headed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is building a reception camp for illegal migrants just 15 kilometers from the Burgenland border. This is causing new domestic political tensions in Austria. Following Burgenland's governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ), Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) is now also directing harsh words towards Budapest and announcing fierce resistance.

The collection center is to be located near the village of Vitnyéd, a stone's throw from Neckenmarkt, Deutschkreutz or Nikitsch in the district of Oberpullendorf.

Karner speaks plainly: "No room for maneuver"
"If the rumored plans on the Hungarian side are true, the Austrian police will have no leeway here either. If necessary, the border controls with Hungary will be significantly tightened," Karner emphasizes to the "Krone".

Illegal migration at the Burgenland-Hungarian border has been reduced by 97 percent. The smugglers are avoiding Austria.

Innenminister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP)

He has already made this clear to the Hungarian authorities.

60 Austrian police officers deployed in Hungary
Karner points out that the measures taken in the last two years to combat smuggling have had an effect. "Illegal migration at the Burgenland-Hungarian border has been reduced by 97 percent. The smugglers are giving Austria a wide berth." In addition, 60 Austrian police officers have been deployed to combat smuggling on Hungarian territory.

Doskozil strictly rejects asylum camps on the border in Hungary
The governor of Burgenland, Hans Peter Doskozil, has also announced strong protests against Hungary's asylum plans. He expects the federal government in Vienna to clearly reject the "political game". The plans must be prevented from being implemented. However, should Hungary actually pursue this goal, Austria would have to respond with rigorous surveillance of the green border, said the governor.

The province of Burgenland will defend itself against the plans with all legal and political means at its disposal.

Burgenlands Landeshauptmann Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ)

Greens attack Orbán and FPÖ
The Greens are attacking Orbán and the FPÖ. "With politicians like Orbán and their small-minded nationalism, the prosperity and freedom of people in Europe are at risk. The fact that Orbán is the idol of FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl speaks volumes," said a spokesperson. 

Protests in Hungary too
The Hungarian population is also already on the barricades. On Sunday, opponents took to the streets in a protest march in the town of 1500 inhabitants.

The angry citizens of Vitnyéd finally want answers: Will a new refugee camp be built?

(Bild: Screenshot Facebook/Remete László)

Bunk beds in the former gymnasium
The former school, which is now surrounded by a three-meter-high wire fence, is to serve as a reception camp. Photos show that bunk beds have been set up in the former gym.

Who will sleep in these bunk beds in the gymnasium of the former vocational school?

(Bild: Screenshot facebook.com/gabor.nyikos)

According to Vitnyéd's mayor Csaba Szalai, the site is state-owned. When news appeared on the internet that the site was already being guarded by the police, the situation escalated dramatically.

Photos inthe media allegedly prove camp construction
In the town's official Facebook group, Szalai initially justified the construction of a refugee camp by claiming that Hungary had been fined millions for violating EU asylum law. While photos in the media are supposed to prove the construction of the camp, Alpár Gyopáros, the government commissioner responsible for the development of modern communities, denied the construction of a migrant camp on Facebook. Orbán had also confirmed this. At the same time, Gyopáros accused opposition politicians of only wanting to stir up the public and stoke fears.

Orbán puts EU partners under pressure again
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly tried to put pressure on his EU partners on the migration issue in the past. The release of hundreds of convicted smugglers in the spring of last year, which was justified by a lack of EU funds, caused outrage and was also sharply criticized by FPÖ leader Kickl as "incomprehensible and unacceptable".

In the summer, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) sentenced Hungary to pay a fine of 200 million euros and a daily penalty payment of one million euros for each day of delay. The main issue was the effective access of asylum seekers to asylum procedures. However, the government of right-wing nationalist Viktor Orbán has so far refused to make the payments.

2015 refugee crisis: Orbán's inglorious role
Orbán also played an inglorious role in the major refugee crisis of 2015. After images of migrants detained in inhumane conditions in Hungarian camps caused a stir across Europe in September 2015, Austria and Germany opened their borders.

The then Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann (SPÖ) spoke of an "emergency" and compared Orbán's actions to those of the National Socialists during the Second World War. "Putting refugees on trains in the belief that they will go somewhere else brings back memories of the darkest times on our continent," he said.