DK calls for speeding up asylum procedures

Budapest, August 17 (MTI) – The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has called for increasing the immigration office’s capacities to help speed up asylum procedures at Hungary’s southern border.

Authorities only allow 15 asylum seekers into each of the two transit zones near the border towns of Röszke and Tompa at a time, DK MEP Péter Neidermüller told a press conference on Wednesday after inspecting the transit zone near Röszke.

He said more people should be allowed in, noting that there are 500-600 asylum seekers waiting to enter the transit zone on Serbia’s side of the border.

Neidermüller attributed the slowness of the procedures to capacity limits, saying that the immigration office (BAH) lacks the staff and money needed to handle more asylum requests at a time.

He quoted BAH as saying that the reason why so few people are let into the transit zone at a time is that asylum procedures have become longer and more thorough.

Neidermüller said more transit zones were needed and proposed that Hungary could apply for European Union funding to expand capacities and speed up the procedures.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI