Hungary - Referendum against forced settlement to be held in autumn
In consequence of the Tuesday decision of the Constitutional Court, a referendum will be held against the forced settlement of migrants in the autumn as all obstacles have now been removed from calling and organising the referendum, Bence Tuzson said.
The two decisions adopted by the Constitutional Court on Tuesday did not grant the four petitions submitted against the referendum which was initiated by the Government with respect to the settlement quotas. Mr Tuzson said in response: the referendum initiated by the Government was contested by left-wing politicians, including socialist MEP Tibor Szanyi and Gábor Fodor, the President of the Hungarian Liberal Party, but these obstacles have now been removed. The State Secretary said: based on the statutory time limits, the referendum will be held in September or October, as expected.
The Government is asking the Hungarian people to say no to the forced settlement of migrants, Mr Tuzson said, who also told the press: the Cabinet will begin the preparations for the referendum. In his view, the Hungarian people must decide on an issue of sovereignty and a national affair which may alter Hungary in an economic, cultural and ethnic sense for centuries, or perhaps forever. „Europe cannot be turned upside down. In Europe decisions are made primarily by the nations, and Brussels, the European Commission is there to implement the decisions of these nations, not the other way round”, the State Secretary for government communication said, who believes that „we have the truth here, with us”, on this side of the continent.
The politician also pointed out that the pressure of migration that weighs heavily on Europe is not abating. In this context, he indicated that the plans relating to the distribution of migrants are an invitation to those who are about to set out for Europe. „We must prevent forced resettlement, we must stop Brussels in this respect”, Mr Tuzson stated, who is expecting further attacks against Hungary in consequence.
In answer to a question regarding the outcome of the referendum, he said: “the more people voice their opinions on this issue, the more successful this referendum may be”. He also said: the Hungarian referendum will be truly successful if enough people cast their votes to stop the machinery of the EU on the whole.
The State Secretary was also queried about the statement made by Tamás Portik, the former manager of Energol last week. In answer he said: left-wing politicians „are grasping at” a criminal’s allegations which are obviously lies.