Hungary has refused to take in refugees because its population is not in favor of opening the borders, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview published Monday.
“I can only speak for the Hungarian people, and they don’t want any migration,” Orbán said. “In my understanding, it’s not possible for the people to have a will on a fundamental issue and for the government not to comply with it.”
Most refugees come to Europe not because they are fleeing dangerous conditions at home but because they want to take advantage of economic opportunities, Orbán, one of the bloc’s most vocal anti-refugee leaders, told German newspaper Bild. As such, they shouldn’t be considered “refugees” so much as “Muslim invaders,” he said.