EU threatens to step up legal action against members refusing to take in migrants

The European commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship has threatened to implement the final step in the infringement procedure under way against member states refusing to take in migrants unless they change their position.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, Dimitris Avramopoulos urged member states that have not complied with their duty to take in migrants — specifically Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic — to step up their efforts to relocate asylum seekers from Greece and Italy.

The commissioner welcomed the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) decision to dismiss a case launched by Hungary and Slovakia challenging the legality of the EU’s migrant resettlement scheme and uphold the legality of a European Council resolution on relocating 120,000 refugees to member states on a mandatory basis.

Avramopoulos said member states have until September 26 to relocate all eligible asylum seekers from Greece and Italy.

He said that if certain member states did not change their approach to the resettlement scheme, their cases would be referred to the ECJ.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Olivier Hoslet

Source: MTI