Will Hungary be thrown out of the Schengen Zone for letting Russians into the EU?

Hungary may lose its Schengen Zone membership because the Orbán cabinet is letting too many Russian citizens in the country without proper control. The Russians coming to Hungary with the so-called Hungarian Golden Visa Programme or to work here can go westward and pose a threat to other EU member states, at least this is what two Dutch parties are worried about.

Dutch MPs would exclude Hungary from the Schengen Zone

According to Telex, the Dutch Christian Democrats and the liberal D66 parties would like to suspend Hungary’s Schengen Zone membership temporarily due to the threat Russians coming into Hungary pose to their country and other EU member states. Representatives of the parties are concerned that some Russian individuals getting residency permits in Hungary will serve Putin’s regime as spies in other EU member states.

They called Prime Minister Dick Schoof to submit their initiative to this week’s European Council session about Hungary’s temporary exclusion from the Schengen Zone until the Orbán cabinet introduces stricter rules concerning the supervision of Russian individuals.

Jan Paternotte, an MP of the D66, said the measure should remain in effect as long as Hungary “rolls out a red carpet” for Russian employees and lets them in without proper control. Paternotte added that European authorities expelled almost 400 Russian citizens because they were taking part in espionage. “The Russian threat is on the border, Hungary accommodated them, we must introduce restrictions”, he highlighted.

The Netherlands should not be naive

Paternotte called the “silence” of Geert Wilders’ anti-migration Freedom Party in the issue “bizarre”. The MP believes Hungary lets potentially dangerous Russian citizens into Europe, so Wilders should object even though they are friends with PM Orbán. The two leaders were together in Northern Italy to protest against the so-called political attacks targeting Matteo Salvini. Furthermore, Wilders’ wife is Hungarian, so they regularly spend holidays in Hungary. Even so, the Dutch MP believes the friendship of the two leaders should not affect Dutch politics and their country’s safety.

Henri Bontenbal, the leader of the Social-Democrat CDA, said many EU member states were fed up with Hungary’s behaviour. He added that the Netherlands should not be naive but should confront countries aiding Russia. Bontenbal hopes that two parties of the government coalition, the Conservative-Liberal VVD and the anti-elitist Christian-Democrat NSC will support their initiative.

Russian cyberattacks and espionage

Dutch security services regularly warn about the threat of Russian infiltration. Several security services issued a warning last week about the Russian cyberattacks concerning critical Western governmental infrastructure. The attacks aim to acquire data about the Western weapon deliveries for Ukraine and disturb that with sabotage.

Wilders won the elections in the Netherlands but could not become a prime minister. However, Telex says the most right-wing governments were formed in Dutch history. Despite not having the top job, Wilders has a defining influence on the country’s politics.

Minister says national security screenings are part of the process

Asked to comment on two Dutch parties having proposed the suspension of Hungary’s Schengen membership, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, said this was “not realistic in any way” during a Wednesday press conference.

He said there were far fewer Russian citizens working in Hungary than in Western European countries, and Hungary only issued visas after conducting national security screenings.

Read also:

• Hungary’s exclusion from Schengen Zone discussed in EP amid National Card controversy
• End of Schengen at Hungary’s borders? Here’s Slovenia’s unforeseen decision

Featured image: illustration, source: depositphotos.com

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