'All the terrorists are basically migrants': Controversial Hungarian prime minister calls for EU border clampdown in wake of Paris attacks 

  • Viktor Orban claimed in interview 'all the terrorists are basically migrants'
  • He said the 'number one job' was now to 'defend borders' after Paris attack
  • Hungary put up razor-wire fence to divert flow of migrants earlier this year

Hungary's prime minister has claimed that 'all the terrorists are basically migrants' and called for tougher border controls in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Viktor Orban has already sparked controversy after his country erected a huge razor-wire fence on its borders with Serbia and Croatia in a bid to divert the migrant flow across Europe.

Speaking just over a week after terrorists went on the rampage in the French capital killing 130 in a wave of shootings and suicide bombings, he claimed that uncontrolled migration into Europe presented a security threat 'because we don't know who they are'.

Controversial: Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban (pictured) has claimed that 'all the terrorists are basically migrants' and called for tougher border controls in the wake of the Paris attacks

Controversial: Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban (pictured) has claimed that 'all the terrorists are basically migrants' and called for tougher border controls in the wake of the Paris attacks

Hungary sparked controversy after his country erected a huge razor-wire fence on its borders with Serbia and Croatia in a bid to divert the migrant flow across Europe

In an interview with Politico, Orban said: 'Of course it's not accepted, but the factual point is that all the terrorists are basically migrants. The question is when they migrated to the European Union.

'If you allow thousands or millions of unidentified persons into your house, the risk of … terrorism will significantly increase.'

He also suggested that the 'number one job' following the Paris atrocity was 'to defend the borders and to control who is coming in'.

And he called for reform of the EU so that the balance of powers would lean back towards nation states.

His remarks come just days after he suggested uncontrolled migration poses a 'direct risk' to all European citizens and has already claimed lives in the continent.

Orban, speaking after a meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, said it was 'politically irresponsible' to continue allowing migrants to enter the EU unchecked, since they 'may or do commit acts of terror.'

Speaking just over a week after terrorists went on the rampage in the French capital killing 130 in a wave of shootings and suicide bombings. Rescuers are pictured carrying an injured man near the Bataclan theatre where 89 music fans were gunned down

Speaking just over a week after terrorists went on the rampage in the French capital killing 130 in a wave of shootings and suicide bombings. Rescuers are pictured carrying an injured man near the Bataclan theatre where 89 music fans were gunned down

Hungary has diverted the migrant flow by building razor-wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia.

Gruevski said the flow of some 10,000 migrants a day had become a 'constant burden' on Macedonian resources and called for greater cooperation between the Balkan states and the EU to solve the crisis.

Macedonia, along with Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, has begun turning away migrants who are not from war zones such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Orban has long taken a hard line against the migrants, saying that the influx poses a security threat and threatens the continent's Christian identity.

'As long as this government is breathing, there won't be any quota, or any (failed asylum seekers) taken back,' Orban told parliament last week.

'We will decide who we want to let in who we want to live with, (the quota) doesn't make sense as it doesn't solve anything,' he said. 

He also said after last week's Paris attacks by Islamist gunmen, some of whom were believed to have travelled to fight in Syria, that there was no reason to doubt that there was link between immigration and terrorism, even if EU leaders were reluctant to accept it.

If the bloc did not face up to facts, voters would turn to parties that do, Orban said.

'Under such circumstances support keeps growing for radical, extremist, off-mainstream political forces that question the current European system but call a spade a spade.'

'We must not stop speaking the truth to the radical parties because voters will follow those who speak the truth and European politics will grow more radical, which is in nobody's interest.' 

On Friday he said it was high time the European Union reconsidered the basic parameters binding it together, then revamp its founding treaties, or face political radicalisation across the continent.

Orban has been at odds with Brussels ever since coming to power in 2010, and recently became an outspoken critic of the EU's handling of the migration crisis and other challenges.

Asked about a Dutch proposal to create a tighter core in the EU with external passport controls, dubbed a 'mini-Schengen', Orban said not only Schengen but other aspects of the EU were ineffectual today and needed to be reformed.

 

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