Brussels 04.09.2024 Today MEP Kinga Gál and MEP András László hosted a press-conference of János Bóka, Minister for European Union Affairs, on the margins of the meeting of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), European Parliament, Brussels. The event was organised following the new wave of criticism of Hungarian government, regarding National Card programme.

“The pro-war majority in the European Parliament is again launching mendacious attacks against the pro-peace Hungarian government”, as the EP’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is to hold a hearing on Hungary’s National Card programme “based on false accusations” the Fidesz MEP group said, writes Daily News Hungary.

Kinga Gál, the head of the Fidesz EP delegation, said that National Card applications underwent strict security checks and the EC had previously never criticised these practices. In the first month of the scheme, only five Russian and Belarusian citizens were granted a National Card, she added.

“It is obvious that the European left was raising accusations without knowing the facts. All of this is a new chapter in the anti-Hungarian political agitation and series of unfounded attacks,” MEP said.

Fidesz MEP András László said Hungary’s immigration regulations were among the most rigorous in Europe and added that “hardly 6,000 Russian citizens are working in Hungary, as against nearly 260,000 in Germany.”

“Surprisingly, they do not pose security risks, only the ones living in Hungary. These are double standards, pure and simple,” he lamented.

Minister Boka regrets the position of the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, who is not willing to engage in an inclusive debate on the issue. Quoting the Eurostat figures Minister Boka came to a conclusion, that the criticism of the Hungarian government on the issue of National Card granted to Russian citizens is an example of an “anti-Hungarian hysteria”, and double standards.