On 8 June, EU interior ministers – with protests from Hungary and Poland – approved a package of proposals to reform the EU’s migration system, according to which Brussels would distribute illegal immigrants among Member States through a binding EU mechanism. According to the adopted document, countries that do not accept migrants assigned to them under the mandatory quota system must pay a penalty of EUR 22,000 (HUF 8 million) for each migrant not admitted. The next step in the decision-making process is to submit the proposal to the European Parliament. In view of these developments, Századvég has examined the position of Hungarians on the mandatory distribution of illegal migrants according to quotas planned by Brussels.

The rejection of the mandatory resettlement quota is significant

Research data show that

70 percent of respondents have recently heard about Brussels’ plan to make it mandatory for EU Member States to distribute migrants according to quotas

and to establish and maintain refugee camps in Member States again.

It is important to emphasise that Hungarian public opinion clearly rejects Brussels’ migrant quota system. It can be considered that

more than two-thirds (68 percent) of Hungarians believe that if the distribution mechanism planned by Brussels is introduced, Hungary will have to resist the decision taken by Brussels and continue to fight against the mandatory resettlement quota.

The proportion of those who would acknowledge the mandatory resettlement of illegal immigrants according to quotas is estimated at 25 percent.

Methodology

CATI method, n=1000, among the Hungarian adult population, data collection: June 2023