OREANDA-NEWS  Activity can be observed on all three main European migration routes, the Chief Advisor for Security of the Prime Minister said at his press conference held on Thursday in Budapest.

György Bakondi stressed with reference to Swedish and German surveys: it may be observed that the presence of migrants in Europe is intensifying. In his view, this indicates that the plans related to integration cannot be implemented, and opinions among members of the public which disagree with the process are becoming increasingly marked.

The Hungarian Government continues to consistently hold the view that border guarding is a fundamental security criterion, only thoroughly checked individuals should be allowed into the territory of the European Union, and problems should be handled where they emerge, Mr Bakondi said. He added: Hungary does not agree either with the relocation of migrants, or with the opening of the borders.

As regards the three main routes, Mr Bakondi said with respect to the Balkans one: according to recent surveys, there are 3.5 million Syrian nationals staying in Turkey, 31 per cent of whom are in employment, and 42 per cent would set out for Europe immediately.

He added: on average, 70 to 73 immigrants are arriving in Greece from Turkey every day, and there are some 62,400 registered migrants in Greece. There are 200 migrants in Macedonia, almost 5,500 in Serbia, 600 of whom are staying in the vicinity of the Hungarian border, there are approximately 2,300 migrants in Bulgaria, the police apprehended 2,500 illegal border crossers in Romania in the first half of the year, there are some 600 migrants in Croatia, and 270 in Slovenia.

Upon disclosing the Hungarian data, Mr Bakondi stated: while in 2016, 19 thousand people attempted to enter the territory of the country, 7,300 migrants sought to cross the border up to 28 March, the entry into force of the relevant regulation, and some 4,200 attempted to cross the border thereafter. From among those attempting to enter the country, the chief advisor specifically highlighted those apprehended on the Hungarian-Romanian border section, as he said, a significant increase has been observed on this section. While in 2016, 57 migrants attempted to enter the country on this border section, this number has been 374 this year. At the same time, there has been a fall on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border section: 20 illegal border crossers have been apprehended this year, while in the whole of last year 131 individuals were detained.

Regarding asylum applications, he said: while in 2015 more than 177 thousand individuals submitted such applications, 29,432 applications were received in 2016, and only 2,226 in 2017 to date. Two years ago 508 persons were granted protection, 438 last year, and 462 this year.

In the context of the Spanish migration route, he highlighted that up to the end of June, 9,507 migrants arrived from this direction which is a significant increase compared with the data of some 5 thousand during the corresponding period of last year.

As regards the third route, the Libya-Italy route, Mr Bakondi said: according to data released at the beginning of July, 95,086 migrants arrived in Europe from this direction, 7,390 of them were relocated, accounting for a mere 18 per cent of the relevant plan.

Concerning the proposal of the French head of state for the resolution of the situation, based on which the applications of migrants should be assessed in hotspots in Libya, the chief advisor for security said: this bears a most uncanny resemblance to the proposal tabled by the Hungarian Government two years ago.