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Hungary Prime Minister to Continue Struggle on Migrant Quota System at EU Level

© REUTERS / Lazslo BaloghHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a news conference in Budapest, Hungary, October 4, 2016.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a news conference in Budapest, Hungary, October 4, 2016. - Sputnik International
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Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he would further pursue the issue of immigration at the EU level, calling Brussels a "battleground" for settling the issue.

Refugees who did not cross the border before its closure walk on railroad tracks by the Serbian-Hungarian border near the village of Reske - Sputnik International
Hungarian Parliament Rejects Amendment Rebuffing EU Migrant Quota System
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he could not count on the Hungarian opposition parties to amend the constitution in attempts to ban forced settlement of refugees, but would "continue the struggle" at the EU level, media reported on Friday.

According to Hungary Today, Orban said in the interview with the Kossuth Radio that he would further pursue the issue of immigration at the EU level, calling Brussels a "battleground" for settling the issue.

Orban added that he would not reintroduce proposal on changing the constitution, as even the far-right nationalist Jobbik party "switched over to the side of Brussels," referring to its recent boycotting of the vote on amendment.

Europe has been trying to cope with a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing crisis-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including from Syria, to escape violence and poverty.

The European Union adopted a quota system last September that envisages the relocation of 160,000 asylum seekers across the bloc within two years.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban gives a speech during his visit at the Bavarian state parliament in Munich, Germany October 17, 2016. - Sputnik International
Orban Ready to Sue EU Commission Over 'Imposing Foreign Population' on Hungary
The quota system has not been unanimously welcomed by EU members and faced criticism from several EU states primarily from the eastern part of the bloc, such as Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, who have opposed its mandatory nature.

On October 2, Hungary held a referendum on the EU migrant resettlement quota but it failed due to the turnout of 45 percent with the required minimum of 50 percent. Nevertheless, the majority of voters — some 95 percent — rejected the quota scheme.

In late October, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to sue the European Commission over the migrant quota system, which had not been unanimously welcomed by EU members and faced criticism from several EU state, primarily from the eastern part of the bloc.

On November 8, the Hungarian National Assembly rejected a constitutional amendment aimed at rebuffing Hungary's participation in the EU mandatory scheme of migrants’ resettlement.

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