The right-wing conservative Hungarian government is reportedly building a detention camp for illegal migrants near the Austrian border. The camp is being constructed outside the town of Vitnyéd, 15 kilometers from the border.
Residents are expressing resistance. On Sunday, a protest march with 1,500 participants took place in the town. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently reaffirmed his stance against accepting refugees. The Austrian state of Burgenland is preparing to oppose the plan.
A three-meter-high wire fence was quickly erected around the former school grounds called Csermajor, which is now strictly guarded by the police, according to the online portal “hvg.hu” on Monday. Photos reportedly show bunk beds being set up in the former gymnasium. The mayor of Vitnyéd, Csaba Szalai, reminded the public that the property is state-owned, and he is not permitted to comment on the matter.
However, in the town’s official Facebook group, Szalai initially justified the construction of a refugee camp by explaining that Hungary had been fined millions for violating EU asylum laws. Refugees from Ukraine had previously been housed at Csermajor. Vitnyéd is located in the Győr (Sopron) county, just a few kilometers from the border with Burgenland’s Seewinkel region and Deutschkreutz.
Sharp criticism of the Hungarian project came from Burgenland’s governor, Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ). “If these reports are confirmed, the location can only mean one thing: a large-scale transfer of refugees across the green border into Austria. That would amount to state-organized human smuggling,” he emphasized. He stated that Burgenland would “fight against the plans with all legal and political means.”
Doskozil also called on Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (both ÖVP) to take action. If Hungary continues to pursue such plans, Austria must respond with “rigorous monitoring of the green border,” according to the governor. He announced that Burgenland would immediately close all border crossings in such a case – “if necessary, even with additional pedestrian zones,” referencing the border crossing between Schattendorf and the Hungarian town of Ágfalva, which has already been closed to car traffic.
Austrian authorities are currently registering relatively few illegal border crossings from Hungary. Chancellor Nehammer emphasized during his election campaign that such crossings had decreased by 97 percent.
Recently, Orbán reiterated his demand for EU payments to cover Hungary’s border security costs. “They will pay; it’s only a matter of time,” said Orbán, who is aligned with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl at the EU level, during a radio interview.
Orbán has repeatedly tried to pressure his EU partners on migration issues. One particularly controversial incident occurred in the spring of last year when hundreds of convicted smugglers were released, citing the absence of EU funds. FPÖ leader Kickl sharply criticized this action as “incomprehensible and unacceptable.”
Orbán also played a controversial role during the major refugee crisis of 2015/16. In September 2015, after images of migrants being held in inhumane conditions in Hungarian camps caused an uproar across Europe, Austria and Germany opened their borders. Then-Chancellor Werner Faymann (SPÖ) called it an “emergency” and compared Orbán’s actions to those of the Nazis during World War II. “Putting refugees on trains under the pretense that they’re going somewhere else brings back memories of the darkest time in our continent’s history,” he said.
