77 per cent of Hungarians oppose the European Union sending immigrants to Hungary without the consent of the Hungarian government, according to the latest public opinion poll of the Nézőpont Institute, released on Monday, 19 June.
The survey, conducted through telephone interviews with one thousand people between June 12 and 14, states that the plan for migrant quotas has been on Brussels’ agenda since 2015. Based on the Council’s decision accepted despite Hungary’s dissenting vote, Hungary would be required to accept 8,500 illegal immigrants annually, which would account for approximately 30 per cent of the total number of individuals to be relocated to the country.
It was emphasised that the reconsidered European plan for migrant quotas contradicts the principle enshrined in the Hungarian Fundamental Law following the Hungarian national referendum of 2016, which states that ‘alien populations cannot be settled in Hungary.’ The institute was interested in whether Hungarians find it acceptable for Brussels to make decisions on such an important matter without the consent of the Hungarian government.
According to the survey’s results, more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of respondents agreed that the European Union should only send ‘migrant applicants’ to Hungary with the approval of the Hungarian government. The rejection of the migrant quota, which seeks to override national sovereignty, represents a majority position in all social groups, across party political preferences.
The press release pointed out that nearly the entire government party’s voter base (93 per cent) would insist on the protection of national competences and oppose the mandatory quota-based resettlement of immigrants. Nézőpont suggested it is a warning sign for left-wing parties ‘implicitly supporting the plan’ that even the majority of left-wing voters oppose the principle of migrant quotas (58 per cent), with only a third considering it acceptable (32 per cent).
The latest public opinion poll by the Nézőpont Institute was conducted via telephone interviews with 1,000 individuals between 12-14 June. The sample of certain-to-vote citizens is representative of the population aged 18 and above in terms of gender, age, region, settlement type, and education.
