2023. 03. 17.
“Blaming Member States’ legitimate border protection efforts for deaths in the Mediterranean is an unfair and incorrect approach. The real cause of the tragic events is European indulgence regarding illegal migration. Pro-immigration declarations, quotas, and NGOs working with smugglers and criminals are the causes of these deaths” said Fidesz MEP Balázs Hidvéghi in the European Parliament debate on the shipwreck off the Italian coast.
The MEP said that shipwrecks in the Mediterranean are heartbreaking human tragedies, but if the EU does not take the necessary steps, they will never end. He stressed that more and more ships are arriving in Italy. “Italian intelligence agencies predict that around 650,000 people could leave Africa this year,” MEP Hidvéghi said.
“We can only put an end to the tragedies in the Mediterranean if we put European migration policy on a completely new footing. First, we have to protect Europe’s external borders to prevent people smugglers and migrants from embarking on this dangerous journey. Moreover, all migrants who enter Europe illegally and have no right to stay must be sent home,” said MEP Balázs Hidvéghi.