'Migration is a Poison': Hungary’s Orban Calls Migrants 'Terror Risk'

Speaking in Budapest after a meeting with Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, Orban reiterated his opposition to EU proposals calling for the implementation of refugee and immigration quotas across the bloc.

"Hungary does not need a single migrant for the economy to work, or the population to sustain itself, or for the country to have a future," he said.

​"This is why there is no need for a common European migration policy: whoever needs migrants can take them, but don't force them on us, we don't need them."

In a stark difference to the rhetoric of other EU leader, Orban added: "every single migrant poses a public security and terror risk," in a reference to the recent spate of attacks in Europe.

​"For us migration is not a solution but a problem… not medicine but a poison, we don't need it and won't swallow it," he said.

While large numbers of asylum seekers traveled through Hungary last year as part, only a small number of the estimated 1.5 million new arrivals have actually sought asylum in the country.

Orban Exposes Wide EU Divisions

Orban's use of hugely inflammatory language has further highlighted the divides on the issue of immigration within the EU.

While the European Commission, Germany and others have backed calls for a refugee quota to help evenly spread migrants across the bloc, others, such as Hungary and other Eastern European states have strongly rejected such suggestions.

​Hungary is set to hold a referendum on October 2, where the country will decide whether it wants to participate in the EU's proposed migrant relocation plans.

​Orban has been widely criticized by other leaders in the past for his aggressive rhetoric towards asylum seekers and migrants, while Orban has returned fire, criticizing the EU's immigration policies.