Of those granted permits in Hungary, employment was the main reason with 58%, 16% was education-related, every fifteenth for family reasons and one in five for other reasons.Continue reading
Balázs Hidvéghi, an MEP of ruling Fidesz, on Wednesday criticised what he called “an immoral new push by pro-migration forces to promote legal migration” after a European parliamentary debate on the creation of new legal channels for labour migration into the bloc.
Hidvéghi told Hungarian reporters in Strasbourg that the proposals contained in the report at the centre of the debate would attract the most talented people to Europe, resulting in a brain drain in areas that are already in a difficult situation.
As the EU struggles with one of its gravest migration crises, the European Parliament is debating a report that would institutionalise migration with active collaboration from the European Commission, he said.
The report calls for promoting legal labour migration and the import of low and medium-skilled workers from the Middle East and Africa, Hidvéghi said. It also urges easing their movement within the bloc and making them eligible for benefits, he added.
But in Hungary’s experience, aid should be exported to where it is needed, the MEP said. The goal is not to empty out those areas but rather to create better living conditions for those living there, he added
“There’s no need for Brussels to decide who should be admitted and what we should do with them,” Hidvéghi said, adding this decision should remain in the hands of member states. Demographic and labour challenges should be addressed by implementing the kind of family policies introduced by the Hungarian government, he said.
featured image Attila Kovács/MTI
