Hungarian gov't to call referendum on EU's migrant quotas

The Hungarian government has decided to call a referendum on the European Union's proposed mandatory migrant quota scheme, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced at a press conference in parliament on Wednesday.

Orban said his cabinet chief Antal Rogan submitted the question to the National Election Committee for approval, but didn't disclose a date for the nationwide ballot.

Orban said the referendum question would be: Do you want the EU to prescribe the mandatory relocation of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of the parliament?

The decision about the mandatory relocation quota cannot be taken away from the Hungarian parliament, Orban said, adding that no one else can decide apart from the elected representatives of the Hungarian parliament.

In December last year, Hungary submitted to the European Court its appeal against the EU's mandatory quota system that will distribute migrants across the bloc. Hungary's parliament adopted a resolution on November 3 stating the European Commission did not have the legal right to establish a quota system that mandated the number of refugees each member country must take in. Endit