Hungary’s Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar has vowed to strengthen his country’s borders, suggesting his defeat of EU‑sceptic Viktor Orbán will not lead to a policy shift toward Brussels on migration.
European leaders welcomed Magyar's achievement in ending the 16-year rule of Orbán. While Magyar has pledged to reengage with the EU, he said his government’s plans do not include implementing the EU’s new migration and asylum pact.
The pact, which comes into effect in June, overhauls the EU’s asylum and border rules, introducing faster screening, tougher returns and aims to redistribute responsibility for the cost and efforts of hosting migrants among member states.
Mentioning the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, Magyar said in a speech Wednesday that Hungary had a strict immigration policy and "it will not accept any pact". It would keep its southern border fence and "patch up the holes that are there now," he added.
"We really want to protect our country and Europe from illegal immigration," Magyar said, adding that the conservative Tisza party he leads "will pursue a strict illegal immigration policy."
Magyar’s victory in Hungary was greeted with relief across Europe but experts at the International Crisis Group say he had a low bar to clear regarding better coordination with the EU than his predecessor, given Orbán’s track record of blocking Brussels.
"A more EU-minded Budapest will certainly make things easier, but it is worth remembering that Magyar remains a skeptic of Ukrainian integration into the EU," Olga Oliker, the ICG's European Security director, told Newsweek.