Szijjarto: Dublin rules ‘dead’, not fair to send back Syrians to Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – The Dublin system of handling asylum claims is “dead” because, with a few exceptions, nobody adheres to its regulations, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

Applying the Dublin rules on the return of migrants is “not justifiable” for these reasons, Szijjarto told MTI on Wednesday, in response to news that Germany will again apply the rules for Syrians. Under the rules the migrants have to be returned to the first country where they entered the European Union.

The German interior ministry said on Tuesday that it would follow the Dublin rules about returning migrants in respect of all countries of origin, including Syria. The rules will be applied to all countries that are members of the Dublin convention, except for Greece, it said.

Szijjarto said that if someone leaves Syria for Europe it is “physically impossible” that they should first enter the EU on Hungarian territory. As a result, it is not “justifiable” to send back even a single Syrian to Hungary, he added.

Photo: MTI

Source: mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters