The Hungarian government is establishing a new center for defectors near the village of Vitnyed, near the border with Austria, local media reported. The announcements have already caused opposition from the local population, which organized a protest.
The center should be established on the site of a former school that is owned by the state, the Hungarian portal hvg.hu reports. Photos of how a three-meter fence was erected around the building, and bunk beds were placed in the former sports hall, have already circulated on the Internet. The area is guarded by the police.
The mayor of Vitnyed stated that the refugee center is being established because Hungary has to pay a multimillion-dollar fine for violating EU asylum legislation.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been opposed to immigrants for years and is embroiled in numerous disputes with Brussels due to disagreements with EU policy.
Among other things, the EU Court ordered Budapest to pay a fine of 200 million euros for violating asylum legislation.
However, since Hungary has not paid the fine, the European Commission intends to take that money from the European funds allocated to that country.
