“Political Hysteria” and no Open Dialogue on Visa for Russian Citizens in LIBE Committee

MTI-Hungary Today 2024.09.05.

Political hysteria and the worst manifestation of double standards in Europe are taking place in the context of the National Card Program, the EU Affairs Minister said in Brussels on Wednesday.

Speaking to international journalists ahead of the debate on the Hungarian National Card Program in the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), János Bóka stressed that the previous regulation on the program has not changed and has not been challenged by the European Commission or the Member States. He stressed that

the program contains certain facilitations for employment, in line with EU rules on visa issuance and entry, and does not pose any risk to national security, public security or public order, neither for Hungary nor for the European Union.

Today I had a press conference in Brussels in the @Europarl_EN on the National Card. LIBE Committee holds a debate w/ @YlvaJohansson without having invited a representative of the Hungarian Government. No interest for real dialogue in the @Europarl_EN. pic.twitter.com/xzGZQ1JIXu

— Bóka János (@JanosBoka_HU) September 4, 2024

Hungary applies strict security standards for all entries and for the protection of all external and internal borders. The Hungarian government is committed to continuing this in the future, he underlined.

Fact

The essence of the National Card Program is to enable third-country nationals to find a job in Hungary by requesting the card. A National Card is issued to a third-country national, as defined in a Government Decree, whose purpose of residence is to work in Hungary. So far, workers have mainly come to Hungary from Ukraine and Serbia with National Cards, but from July 8 they are also able to apply from Bosnia and Herzegovina, northern Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia and Belarus.

As Hungary Today previously reported, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó described it as “childish lies” that Hungary is endangering the security of the Schengen area by extending the National Card Program to Russia and Belarus. “The truth is that Russian and Belarusian citizens can only enter Hungary and thus the Schengen area if they are in possession of a visa, and they can only obtain a residence permit in accordance with the procedure laid down by law, following a procedure conducted by the National Directorate-General for Alien Policing,” he pointed out.

János Bóka recalled that the Patriots for Europe group had taken the initiative to invite representatives of the Hungarian government to the EP committee’s debate on Wednesday, so that MEPs could receive first-hand, credible information on the Hungarian program. The European Parliament rejected this request.

We are committed to an open and frank dialogue, but this cannot be pursued without the Hungarian government. Without the participation of the Hungarian government this is just political hysteria. It is time to stop this,”

János Bóka added.

The debate surrounding Hungary’s National Card Program took a sharp turn following a recent meeting of the @EP_Justice (LIBE). The meeting, which was to address concerns over the “potential security risks” of the program, notably excluded representatives from the Hungarian… pic.twitter.com/SrDAJLoVDc

— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) September 4, 2024

Kinga Gál, chair of Fidesz’s delegation to the European Parliament (EP), pointed out that the allegations about the National Card Program were unfounded and politically distorted, since, she said, the scheme in no way threatened the security of the Schengen system. The number of residence permits granted by Hungary under the program last year is negligible, showing that the debate is a political campaign characterized by double standards, Kinga Gál added.

Today it has become clear once again that the majority of the @Europarl_EN is not interested in real dialogue. Despite the initiative of @PatriotsEP to invite Hungarian minister for EU affairs @JanosBoka_HU, he was not allowed to speak at today’s @Ep_justice debate about the… pic.twitter.com/e44k17Uvmq

— Kinga Gál (@kingagalMEP) September 4, 2024

András László, Fidesz MEP, stressed that it “speaks for itself, it is clearly politically motivated” that the LIBE committee refused the Hungarian government’s participation in Wednesday’s meeting, despite the EP group’s request. He said that the way the committee put the matter on the agenda was not surprising either: without any particular justification, just as they refused the participation of the Hungarian government representative.

The politician also highlighted that Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, had been invited to the debate, but that she had not raised any specific legal concerns about the program in an open letter published earlier.

Shameless Hungarian-Speaking Former Slovak PM Calls for Hungary's Exclusion from the Schengen Area

The letter claims that Hungary has created a security risk that could strengthen the Russian spy network in the EU.Continue reading

Via MTI; Featured image via X/Kinga Gál