EU Commission Lashes Out at Orban Over Campaign Posters

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a press conference after their meeting in Jerusalem on Feb. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Pool)

BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official has lashed out at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over election campaign posters alleging that EU headquarters has purposely weakened the bloc’s external borders to let in more migrants and provide easy visas.

Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday when it comes to spinning the truth in political campaigning “this is something in a completely different universe.”

In Hungary, posters have gone up focusing on EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Hungarian-American financier George Soros, saying that “they want to weaken the border protection rights of the member states; they would facilitate immigration with migrant visas.”

Timmermans said the EU and Juncker were actually at the forefront of reinforcing the EU’s external borders.

Orban’s zealous anti-immigration policies have won him populist admirers across Europe.

Categories / Government, International

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