Refugees Hungary’s parliament fails to approve government-proposed ban on refugee resettlement

The Hungarian parliament narrowly defeated a plan proposed by Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, to ban the resettlement of migrants in Hungary. Analysts say that the setback, coming on the heels of the failure last month of a similar proposal in a referendum, may weaken him as he tries to rally other EU members to adopt a tougher immigration policy.

The proposed constitutional amendment did win 131 votes in the 199-seat parliament, but fell just short of the required two-thirds majority of 133.

The New York Times reports that the failure of the proposal was the result of the populist, nationalist Jobbik party’s decision to instruct its parliamentary delegates to boycott the vote, saying the proposed bill did not go far enough. Jobbik said it would support the bill if a clause in another bill, allowing foreigners to buy residency rights in Hungary, was scrapped.

Orbán’s rightwing Fidesz party, however, let it be known that it would be politically difficult to accept Jobbik’s demands because it would give the appearance of succumbing to blackmail.

EU members have harshly criticized Hungary’s unyielding position on refugees, and some warned Hungary that its refusal to accept refugees may lead to Hungary’s expulsion from the EU.

Orbán had said the constitutional amendment the constitution was required in order to honor the October referendum, in which the overwhelming majority of those who voted, rejected EU migrant quotas.

The results of the referendum did not go into effect, however, because fewer than 50 percent of Hungarians eligible to vote showed up to vote, and the Hungarian constitution requires more than half the eligible population to participate in a referendum for its results to be enacted.

Orbán conceded that the referendum was not legally binding because of low turnout, but argued that it gave him a political mandate to reject the EU requirement that EU members take a number of refugees based on a quota system.

“This vote today is a temporary fiasco [for Orbán], similarly to the referendum which was invalid,” said Robert Laszlo, an analyst at think tank Political Capital.

Laszlo noted that the failure of both the referendum and the parliamentary motion may not weaken Orbán home, but that “In Brussels, he will not be able to sell this as a success, there his positions will weaken.”

Jobbik was adamant about its opposition to the pay-for-residency scheme, which allows foreigners to buy the right to live in Hungary for at least five years on payment of up to $331,000.

The Times notes that almost 10,000 Chinese have taken advantage of the scheme to move to Hungary, as well as affluent investors from Russia and the Middle East. Jobbik argues that some of them are a security risk.

During the vote on the proposed bill, held up a large banner reading: “Those are the traitors who let in terrorists in exchange for money.”