Hungary: 250,000 Illegal Border Crossings Thwarted So Far This Year

A quarter of a million illegal crossings have been foiled at Hungary’s borders so far this year, according to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Migration pressure continues to rise across Europe, particularly along the Balkans Route, which feeds into Hungary and neighboring European Union member states.

“As for migration to Hungary, from the beginning of this year until today, we have managed to prevent 250,000 cases of illegal border crossing,” PM Orbán revealed during a press conference at a trilateral summit attended by Austria, Serbia, and Hungary in Belgrade this week.

“This means that there are more and more of them [illegal migrants] and they are more and more aggressive. These are smugglers who have weapons and they are now using it against our border police. The situation is very difficult, so this meeting is important not only for Hungary, but for all the Balkans.”

The three nations announced the formation of a ‘joint border defense force’ aimed at tackling illegal migration in the region.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said migrants – around 40% of whom claim to be Afghans – are flowing into his country at an increased rate, particularly via North Macedonia and Bulgaria.

“We want to move the defense border to the south because that’s how we protect Europe and our country. We don’t want to be a parking lot for migrants,” Vučić said.