
Elections for Members of European Parliament (MEPs) were held on May 23 through 26. The European Web Site on Integration is publishing a series on what national political parties have said in their campaigns about migrant and refugee integration in the EU.
In the new European Parliament, Hungary has 21 MEPs, who come from five parties:
- Fidesz, 13 seats
- DK (Demokratikus Koalíció), 4 seats
- Momentum, 2 seats
- MSZP (Magyar Szocialista Párt), 1 seat
- Jobbik, 1 seat
All five parties discussed migration or asylum in some way in their programmes for the European Parliament elections, though integration was not explicitly mentioned. Nevertheless, there were references to various topics that are indirectly related to integration, such as social and political impacts of immigration (e.g., public and national security, xenophobia or intercultural interactions).
The general context of the political debates in Hungary around immigration are strongly centred on integration issues. Fidesz, the governing party that has won a majority of the European Parliament seats, sets forth a polarised view on societal changes attributed to immigration. Fidesz frames European countries as belonging to one of two types. There are so-called ‘immigration countries’, which are mostly Nordic and western European, while the other type of country resists becoming an immigration country. The central and eastern European Member States, and to a certain extent Italy, are supposed to fall in this latter group.
Fidesz’s programme for the elections was a brief, seven-point list of measures to stop immigration. Most of these points concerned border management and the alleged facilitation of immigration by the EU’s institutions. However, one point was about multiculturalism.
DIVERSITY & SOCIAL COHESION |
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Fidesz |
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Original Statement “… megvédjük-e a keresztény, európai kultúránkat vagy átadjuk a terepet a multikulturalizmusnak.” |
Unofficial Translation [The European elections are about] whether we can save our Christian, European culture or give ground to multiculturalism. |
Jobbik’s programme focuses on the security and humanitarian risks of irregular immigration, tackling root causes and strengthening border protection. Touching slightly on integration-related topics like the labour market, the party explicitly opposes the facilitation of immigration as a tool for ‘labour force replacement and humanitarian aid’.
OTHER |
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Jobbik |
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Original Text “A migráció nem munkaerQpótlás és a humanitárius segély eszköze, hanem egy tragikus folyamat, melynek hasznát a bqnözQk aratják le.” |
Unofficial Translation Migration is not a tool for labour force replacement and humanitarian aid, but a tragic process the gains of which are harvested by criminals. |
DK’s programme mentions asylum once, emphasising that a common asylum system and policy are the guarantee for maintaining freedom of movement within the Schengen-area. Momentum’s programme devotes an entire chapter to asylum. However, there is no discussion of integration-related issues, only topics like access to territory, tackling root causes and sharing responsibilities through a relocation mechanism. MSZP’s programme has a short section on asylum, but it mainly deals with the reform of the Common European Asylum System, protection of the Schengen-area and combatting irregular immigration while maintaining a humane reception system.
See the party programmes: Fidesz, DK (Demokratikus Koalíció), Momentum, MSZP (Magyar szocialista Párt), Jobbik
Curious about political parties in other EU countries? See the analyses for other Member States.
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