Speeches

Madam President, when I asked Commissioner Johansson in committee what specifically made her feel threatened by the Hungarian national card, I was told that her main problem was that these permits were obtained by Russians and Belarusians, who, in her opinion, today, regardless of the severity of the control, pose a security risk to Schengen. Of course, repeating such a thing about illegal immigrants that are not controlled by anyone would make us extremists and racists spreading hate speech. Even if I accept the Commissioner's concerns, I still do not understand why we are talking today about Hungary and not about Germany, which granted the most such permits to Russian citizens last year. Or about Poland, which keeps these statistics for Belarusian citizens. By the way, Hungary is in eighth place. According to official Eurostat data, there were about 720,000 Russians and 85,000 Belarusians in the European Union last year. But you have decided that the security of Schengen is endangered precisely by the Hungarian ten Russians and four Belarusians who have obtained a national card this year. It's ridiculous! This debate is in fact just another disgusting attack on a sovereign Member State and the embodiment of a Slovak proverb: Anyone who wants to beat a dog will find a stick.