Hungary’s National Card programme extension on Russians, Belarusians: letter to the EC sent

The European Commission and certain member states are “whipping up emotions” on the matter of Hungary’s National Card programme, the EU affairs minister said on Facebook on Wednesday.

János Bóka also posted a letter signed by Interior Minister Sándor Pintér, written to EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson who has earlier voiced concerns about extending the card programme to include Russians and Belarusians wishing to work in Hungary.

Bóka said in the post that applications for the card were tied to the same migration and security screening processes as other residence permits.

The card is issued only in consideration of the relevant EU guidelines and after an assessment of security risks, and the EU had so far not objected to the practice, he said.

Hungary is hosting only a fraction of Russian and Belarusian citizens currently staying in the EU, and the country issues a fraction of EU residence permits for Russian and Belarusian citizens, he said.

Pintér said in the letter that Hungary continued to place great emphasis on the protection of its national security and the security of the Schengen area as a whole.

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