VOTERS in Hungary are set to overwhelmingly reject the imposition of Brussels migrant quotas in a crushing blow to the entire EU project.
By Agnes Kegl
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has been a vocal critic of the EU’s migration policies and has openly encouraged voters to reject the diktat from Brussels.
According to data compiled by the Hungarian news site Index turnout for the referendum, set to take place in October, will comfortably surpass the 50 per cent required to make it valid under the country’s laws.
The central European country has already built fences to keep asylum seekers out
The country has been on the frontline of Europe’s refugee crisis
Of those 33.6 per cent across the political divide have indicated they will say no to Brussels quotas, compared to just 4.8 per cent who indent to vote to accept them.
However, when weighting is given to the relative popularity of the individual parties, pollsters believe that an astonishing 90 per cent of Hungarians will reject the EU proposal.
Such a result would put Hungary at loggerheads with the EU Commission once again over migration, which is becoming an increasingly fractious topic across Europe.
Brussels has hit back, threatening to fine Hungary £211,000 for every asylum seeker it refuses to take in a move which has further inflamed deep euroscepticism in the country.
Although the upcoming referendum does not have any legal force, the Hungarian government hopes it will send a strong signal to Brussels over the deep opposition to mass migration in the country.
A separate survey carried out this week showed that two-thirds of Hungarians say they are either “scared” or “very scared” by the impact the migrant crisis is having on their communities.
Mr Orban has repeatedly positioned himself as a defender of European Christendom, arguing that large arrivals of migrants is threatening to undermine the “cultural identity” of the continent.
His stance has seen his country draw closer politically to some of its near neighbours, but has also deepened already cavernous rifts with the bureaucrats in Brussels.
At a recent meeting Jean-Claude Juncker was caught on camera greeting the Hungarian PM by calling him a “dictator” – summing up the attitude towards Hungary in Europe’s corridors of power.