EU court: Hungary failing to fulfil obligation to protect asylum-seekers

Photo: MTI/EPA/Atef Szafadi

Hungary has failed to fulfil its obligation under EU law to grant international protection to illegal migrants from third countries, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg ruled on Thursday.

The European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Hungary over the transit zones established along its southern border and its changes to refugee procedures in 2015. According to the EC, Hungary failed to provide guarantees against holding asylum-seekers in detention unlawfully in the transit zones as well as guarantees concerning procedures under which illegal migrants were expelled.

In its Thursday ruling, the court said Hungary had failed to provide full access to international protection because illegal migrants in the transit zones “were in practice confronted with the virtual impossibility of making their application” for asylum in Hungary.

Member states must ensure third-country citizens an opportunity to apply for asylum “as soon as they declare their wish” to do so, including at the borders, the court said.

The court also established that applicants had been required “to remain in one of the transit zones for the duration of the procedure for examination of their application”, adding that it “constitutes detention” under the EU’s Reception Directive “without observance of the guarantees which must normally govern it”. The court rejected the Hungarian side’s argument that deviation from the Directive was justified by the migration crisis, in which consideration was given to public order and domestic security.

The court rule that Hungary also failed to meet its obligations under the Return Directive, as the country’s rules allow for forcible removal of illegal entrants from territory.

Neither did it make it possible for applicants to stay in the country until an appeals procedure was completed, the court said.

According to the court’s ruling, restricting access to international protection, unlawfully detaining asylum-seekers in transit zones, and escorting illegal migrants back to the border “without prior compliance with the procedures and safeguards provided for in that directive” altogether constitute infringement of the EU’s laws.

Read alsoFidesz MEP: Rejected asylum seekers should be forced to leave Europe

Source: MTI

If you would like to support the work of the Daily News Hungary staff and independent journalism,
please make a donation here

Hot news

4 Comments

Sarah says:

17/12/2020 at 18:48

Load them up and drop them off in Belgium.
Maria Von Theresa says:

17/12/2020 at 21:59

Illegal migrants do not need or entitled to protection. Illegal migrants are not entitled to shop for a country that will give them the most welfare. It is time that the EU court recognized the difference between refugees and migrants. Hungary acted according to the rules laid out by the Dublin Regulation. All incompetent judges should be removed from the court and a totally new court should be seated. Hungary’s, the country’s interest and the safety of its people outweighs the interest of law breakers. The EU court, as usual, ignores treaties signed by all EU countries. Hungary should never accept illegal ruling from Brussels.
Andrew Balogh says:

19/12/2020 at 04:22

Hungary does not have to open its borders to migrants. It here country and they have there right. Migrants need to keep moving. Back to there country.
George Csahanin says:

19/12/2020 at 20:41

I wish the USA would be more like Hungary. We are overloaded with vermin from the sough here in Texas. The only reason why the democrat party and the “RINO” republicans only want these people are because they almost certainly will vote liberal (free stuff) and for the RINOs who are hand in hand with the US Chamber of Commerce want cheap labor. (For those not in the USA “RINO” means Republican In Name Only. They are as evil as a democrat