Hungary’s southern border is under mounting strain as illegal migration surges, with authorities nabbing more than 5,000 migrants since January—marking a dramatic jump from just 900 during the same stretch last year.
Speaking to Hungary’s public broadcaster M1, György Bakondi, chief domestic security advisor to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, painted a grim picture of shifting migrant flows. With stricter border defenses popping up across Europe, smugglers are adapting fast—rerouting people through weaker points like Hungary’s frontier.
“This isn’t slowing them down; it’s making their business boom,” Bakondi said, pointing out that criminal networks are seizing on every opportunity to stay ahead of enforcement.
And the rising tension isn’t just on Hungary’s doorstep. Frustration is simmering across the EU, as more member states push back against Brussels’ one-size-fits-all migration approach. According to Bakondi, quotas aren’t the answer—instead, the focus needs to shift to securing the EU’s outer borders.
The message from Budapest? Europe’s migration model isn’t just cracking—it’s fueling a black-market industry that’s thriving on chaos.
