A new approach is needed in the EU’s migration policy

„This was another pointless debate on migration. Leftists are still demanding the relocation of migrants based on quotas. The whole approach is wrong, and leads to nowhere,” Fidesz MEP Balázs Hidvéghi summed up his position on the European Parliament’s debate on Tuesday.

The plenary session of the European Parliament held a debate on the migration situation in the Mediterranean on Tuesday. The reason to put it on the agenda was that with the arrival of the good weather has once again set sail thousands of immigrants on their way from the Mediterranean to Europe.

MEP Balázs Hidvéghi said in his speech that ever since the 2015 migrant crisis, the European Union keeps on making the same mistakes. He emphasized that a totally new approach is needed. „The EU should once and for all make it clear that illegal arrivals are not tolerated, either at sea or at land. We need a system in which decisions on applications are made prior to entry into Europe, so nobody can enter the EU’s territory, who does not have the right to be here,“  he said.

MEP Hidvéghi also highlighted that the EU must send the right messages. “NGO ships for instance that cooperate with human smugglers must be stopped. It’s absolutely unacceptable that some actually encourage these NGOs to ignore Member States’ rules and instructions. This serves as an incentive for migrants to take the dangerous journey,” he added.

According to MEP Hidvéghi, in order avoid the tragic death cases, we must stop these ships leaving Africa in the first place. These people need help locally, therefore countries of origin should get proper support. „We must bring help to where it is most needed, instead of bringing problems into Europe. It’s high time for the European Union to realize this,” the MEP added.