国际英语新闻:Hungarian gov't to submit enquiries to EU and UN on anonymous migrant bank cards

BUDAPEST, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Hungarian government will submit enquiries to the EU and the UN on anonymous migrant bank cards, according to official sources here on Friday.

"Due to a number of unclear circumstances, the government will submit official enquiries to the EU and the UN regarding the issue of anonymous bank cards to migrants," Zoltan Kovacs, spokesperson of the Hungarian government declared Friday on MR1 public radio channel.

"It is irresponsible to distribute unidentified bank cards to illegal immigrants, which is why the government is formally addressing questions to the EU and the UN institutions," Kovacs added.

"It is important to know exactly how much money are on the cards, where does the money come from and how can it be ensured that the cards do not fall in the hands of smugglers," Kovacs explained.

He also said it was unfair that EU citizens had to provide a large number of data for a card application, while migrants arriving in the EU largely without any identity will have cards issued anonymously with a simple serial number.

He further said that this issue posed a major threat to the fight against terrorism, people smuggling and money laundering.

The anonymous bank cards are part of an international financial assistance program of the UN and the EU launched in July 2017, aimed at the integration and accommodation of refugees in Greece, the EU country where the most refugees arrive from the Middle-East.

Refugees leaving Greece for Western Europe have these cards on them. Using these cards, refugees can fulfill their basic needs such as food, medicine and public transportation. At the same time, this assistance is re-injected into the local economy, family shops and service providers.

The Hungarian government has adopted a very strict anti-migrant policy since the massive migration wave of 2015, causing some divergences on migrant policies between Budapest and Brussels.