Viktor Orban -

FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

Viktor Orban defends his policy against the epidemic.

The Hungarian prime minister on Friday rejected criticism by the European Commission of closing its borders aimed at stemming the coronavirus and predicted the adoption of similar measures elsewhere on the continent.

"The bureaucrats in Brussels can say whatever they want but - in all modesty - we will see them follow our policy in a few days, otherwise they have no chance of stopping the epidemic," Orban said on the radio. Hungarian public.

"Our defense against the coronavirus has been the most successful in Europe"

On Tuesday, the Hungarian government, often in conflict with the European Commission, banned entry into its territory to non-residents until the end of September, in an attempt to stem the rise in the number of contaminations by the new coronavirus.

“Let's not forget that our defense against the coronavirus has been the most successful in Europe,” said Viktor Orban, taking Sweden, where he believes nearly 10 times more people have died from the coronavirus, as a counter example.

He made an exception for Czech, Polish and Slovak tourists who have already planned a trip to Hungary, highlighting the ease of coordination with these countries which are trying to align their position vis-à-vis Brussels on certain subjects, in particular that of the migration policy.

The difficult European coordination against the virus

On the same day, the European Commission warned Budapest against any discrimination based on nationality and recalled the importance of “the integrity of the Schengen area”.

Hungary has 9.8 million inhabitants.

As of Friday, she had recorded less than 7,400 cases of contamination with the Covid-19 disease.

621 deaths are officially attributed to the pandemic.

Since the end of August, the number of new cases of infection has skyrocketed, with a daily record of 459 cases recorded on Friday.

Faced with movement restrictions taken in dispersed order by the Member States, the Commission advocates coordination between the 27 and a harmonization of criteria to define risk areas.

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