Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

In September 2015, he declared: "European politicians, who spark migrants' hopes of finding a better life in Europe, encouraging them to leave everything behind and risk their lives to come here, are irresponsible. If Europe does not return to the path of reason, it will go under."

Orban made this statement at the height of the refugee crisis. He was the first European leader to close his country's border with barbed wire — to prevent new arrivals from getting in.

https://www.dw.com/en/is-viktor-orban-the-eus-hard-line-hero-or-villain/a-44529560

Han var den förste, men fick efterföljare.

Tack vare honom kan nu den svenska och andra regeringar stolt deklarera att det nu kommer färre asylsökande, samtidigt som de fördömer Orban.

His defining moment was in 2015, when he opposed Merkel’s decree of an EU-wide welcome for refugees from the Syrian war. Orban portrayed himself as the Continent’s border guard, building a fence to shut them out and allowing those stranded in a Budapest railway station to flee to western Europe. 

Bloomberg 6 April 2020

Europe will pay Turkey up to 6 billion euros, or nearly $6.8 billion, through 2018 to keep at least 2.7 million Syrian refugees 

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/21/world/europe/angela-merkel-faces-criticism-over-agreement-with-turkey.html

“Everyone knows once you’re on a Greek island, you can get to the mainland, and once you’re on the mainland you can then somehow get to Germany, Sweden, Austria or somewhere else, so then we are supporting illegal migration,” she said.

Merkel said she spoke to Tsipras about those issues.