Politicians in Hungary have dismissed the notion Britain could agree a deal with the European Union to facilitate the return of migrants who crossed the Channel.
Budapest politicians in the Fidesz party, led by the hardline Viktor Orbán, say the country would ‘never’ join up to any potential deal because it is ‘unfeasible’.
Sir Keir Starmer has been seeking to restore a pre-Brexit security deal with the EU in order to smash people-smuggling gangs – but is powerless at present to turn those who make small boat crossings around and send them back to France.
This is because, as part of the Brexit deal agreed by previous Tory governments, the UK left the Dublin Regulation that allows Ireland to send migrants back to the first EU state they arrived in as they made their journey from their point of origin.
Hungary could even be that first nation if migrants cross from Serbia from across the Balkans – but Budapest politicos say even an offer by the UK to pay for the upkeep of the border fence with Serbia would not be enough to sway them.
Sir Keir Starmer shakes hands with Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán at the European Political Community Summit last week
The Labour PM is keen for a post-Brexit migrant return deal that would allow the UK to send migrants back to their EU point of origin for processing (pictured: people boarding a boat in France on October 30)
At present, the UK is powerless to send migrants back to Europe because of Brexit (pictured: Migrants arriving in Dover on October 31)
A police officer stands ready with a knife to puncture a dinghy trying to leave France on November 5
The landlocked nation is currently president of the European Council, and world leaders from across the bloc met last week to discuss issues such as migration, economic security and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
But speaking to reporters at the summit, Mr Orbán’s spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs said Britain’s hopes of a post-Brexit migrant deal were a pipe dream.
‘It’s not going to happen because it is unfeasible. We never will be engaged, I think, in this kind of scheme,’ Mr Kovacs told the Telegraph.
‘My first reaction would be that you don’t even take it as a negotiation into the negotiation booth … we can talk about everything, but it’s not going to work.’
In an attempt to boost his rapport with Hungary, Sir Keir announced deals to boost intelligence-sharing, expertise and co-operation with Serbia, North Macedonia and Kosovo at the summit – all immediately south of the country.
But Hungarian politicians are more immediately concerned with the situation within the bloc itself.
Fidesz MEP András László said: ‘The EU’s migration system is currently falling apart. EU countries should first fix the mess in the Schengen area.’
Mr Orbán’s populist government has ruled Hungary with an iron fist – disassembling its media and undermining the judiciary all while opposing many EU motions and activities as he rakes in its cash.
However, the country was fined €200million earlier this year after it refused to accept asylum seekers – with Brussels forced to deduct the cash from Hungary’s share of the EU budget after Orbán’s government refused to pay up.
He channeled Donald Trump – whom he backed to win the US election – as he wrapped up the European summit in Budapest, telling visitors: ‘If the Americans have decided that they are going to make America great, there is only one possible European answer: we shall make Europe great.’
The European Political Community Summit brought together world leaders from across the EU and beyond in Budapest
Orbán’s allies have dismissed any notion of a deal between Britain and the EU – even if the Uk offers to contribute to the upkeep of its border fence with Serbia
Mr Orbán is a great admirer of new US President-elect Donald Trump, and channeled him as he told the Budapest conference: ‘We will make Europe great’ (photo shows a 2019 meeting)
And in September, Germany and France’s interior ministers wrote to the European Union’s home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson urging her to get around the table with Britain and hash out a migration deal.
They suggested the lack of legal routes into the UK from Europe was in fact fuelling the smuggling trade Sir Keir has vowed to stamp out.
‘The arrival in office of a new British government, demonstrating its intention to cooperate constructively with the EU, seems to us to be conducive to concrete progress on this issue,’ they wrote.
In Britain, Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed interest in restoring a security deal with the EU so the UK can lead international people-smuggling investigations.
The PM told the Interpol general assembly in Glasgow last week: ‘I’m very keen to get the UK into a leadership position when it comes to the actual operations, particularly in relation to smuggling and putting people into small boats across the Channel.’
However, he has said he will not cross the ‘red lines’ of restoring freedom of movement, saying: ‘My firm view is that we’ve got red lines when it comes to the EU.
‘We’re not going back and we’re not going to join the single market, the customs union. We’re not going to have freedom of movement.
‘But I’m absolutely clear that when it comes to cross-border crime, particularly people-smuggling, the more we can share, the better.’
Almost 32,000 people have arrived in Britain on small boats as of November 7 – more than the 29,437 who arrived in 2023.
The UN International Organisation for Migration said last month at least 52 people had died trying to make the crossing.
A government spokesperson said: ‘International cooperation is vital to smash the criminal smuggling gangs.
‘We are rebuilding strong relationships across Europe to address our common challenge of irregular migration. It is the first duty of any government to secure its borders.’
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