Construction of the border fence separating Hungary and Serbia started exactly 10 years ago today, on 17 July 2015, as the Hungarian news channel Hír TV pointed out in a segment.
The barrier stretches 102 miles (165 kilometres) and stands at 13 feet (4 metres) tall. The project has been drawing heavy criticism from the European Union from its inception. The broader issue, border protection, has been the cause of the €1 million fine Brussels is imposing on Hungary every day: specifically, Budapest is being fined for not complying with the migrant quotas outlined in the EU’s Migrant Pact of 2024.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary announced that his government is considering the construction of a physical border barrier on 12 June 2015, in the midst of the European migrant crisis. The work began the following month, under the direction of Minister of the Interior Sándor Pintér. Minister Pintér assumed office in 2010, and is serving in his post to this day.
The erection of the barrier led to a confrontation between the Hungarian border patrol and migrants shortly after. In September 2015, migrants mostly coming from Middle Eastern countries started pelting officers with rocks and tried to tear down the fence after having been denied entry into Hungary. The incident took place at the border crossing in Röszke, Hungary, with the migrants launching their attack from the Serbian side. A Syrian man urged his fellow aliens on through a loudspeaker.
Eight years later, in September 2023, human traffickers opened fire on Hungarian border patrol agents near Mórahalom, Hungary, but thankfully, failed to hit any of them.
According to Frontex, the EU agency in charge of controlling the Union’s external borders, there were 2 million ‘irregular border crossings’ recorded in 2015. That number drastically decreased in the following years, dropping to 500,000 in 2016, and to 250,000 in 2017. During the Coronavirus pandemic, it has decreased even further. When the pandemic restrictions were lifted, the number of irregular border crossings went on the rise again, to 330,000 in 2022, then 380,000 in 2023. However, in 2024, it dropped sharply yet again, to 240,000 for the year.
The Western Balkan route, which enters the EU through Hungary, was the most frequented path by migrants at the onset of the migration crisis in Europe. However, it has now been surpassed by the Mediterranean route, which puts most of the migration pressure on Italy, as opposed to Hungary.
On the anniversary of the building of the fence on the Hungary–Serbia border, Fidesz MP Bence Rétvári has told Hír TV:
‘There is only one solution: a fence on the Southern border. More and more politicians are admitting that in Europe, but still, nothing has changed in the Brussels leadership. Because ten years ago they said they did not want a border fence, they are still saying they do not want a border fence. Unfortunately, the Hungarian opposition parties from DK and Momentum to TISZA are repeating this Brussels mantra.’
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Author: Márton Losonczi
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