The Hungarian government (EU member) goes ahead with plans to build a fence along its border with Serbia (non-EU member) as soon as possible, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó speaking on Wednesday. "In the future," Szijjártó said, "we will apply temporary border seals on every border section where there is no other effective way to impede illegal immigration."

Budapest argues that only in 2015 only 61,000 migrants have entered Hungary, mostly from Serbia. Many do not stay in Hungary, but other EU countries are their final destination.

The fence -which will be 175 kilometers long and four meters high- will physically separate territories inhabited on both sides by Hungarians. In Vojvodina -the region of Serbia which borders Hungary- Hungarians are 13% of the population, and are mainly concentrated in its northernmost part, the one that spans along the border.

This, however, does not seem to worry Istvan Pasztor, president of the main Hungarian party in the region, the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians. Pasztor says that, "in practice," the fence will not change everyday life of Hungarians living on both sides because border crossings will continue to "work normally." The fence, the leader of the Vojvodina Hungarian party argues, will only help to stop "economic migrants" who each year cross Serbia "in the tens of thousands".

"Regardless of the fact that communication between neighboring citizens will not change," says Djordje Stojsic in a statement, "a barb wire fence raised to prevent people fleeing from war and hunger, is more than just a shameful act. It is horrifying and unimaginable in the 21st century." Stojsic is vice president of Vojvodina's main regionalist party, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV). "[Hungarian] prime minister Viktor Orban has clearly forgotten that citizens of the Warsaw pact countries -surrounded by the walls until recently (30 years ago)-, were also trying to flee and find a better life outside their countries," Stojsic further said.

Orbán concedes that indeed migrants aspire to a better life, but that this is not enough: "We are people with hearts, but we have brains, too," the Hungarian Prime Minister said in Brussels. "We cannot succumb to the temptation of nice words or compassion," he added. "The borders must be protected," he insisted.

In Hungary, the construction of the fence is rejected by the center-left opposition, which believes the government should coordinate more with other European countries in order to find a solution

Jobbik too criticizes the fence, not because it finds it to be a bad idea, but because the far-right party believes that "in the long run" it will be insufficient. The party argues other measures must be taken, including "the right to turn away refugees, setting up an independent border guard service, ensuring immigration detention and restricting refugee camps."

(Image: Viktor Orbán / photo by Europa Pónt.)