"(Foreign) Minister Peter Szijjarto has informed his Austrian counterpart that Hungary was not suspending any rule of the European Union," the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
The right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban had caught Brussels by surprise on Tuesday when it announced it was indefinitely opting out of the so-called Dublin Regulation.
The provision requires a migrant's claim to be processed in the EU country they first arrive in. It means that EU countries are obliged to take back migrants that arrive in their state but then travel on elsewhere.
Budapest’s announcement thus caused consternation in neighbouring Austria, the next destination for many asylum seekers arriving in Hungary.
The move to suspend the Dublin Regulation, which came ahead of a key EU summit on the immigration crisis on Thursday, had prompted Brussels to demand "immediate clarification".
A statement by the EU Commission said Hungary had told other EU states that the suspension was due to a “technical failure”.
However, a Hungarian government spokesperson said the decision was made because the country’s asylum system could no longer cope with the flood of migrants arriving in the country.
“Hungary has used up the capacities at its disposal,” the spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “The situation requires fast action; in this escalated situation Hungary needs to take a move ahead of EU decisions.”
So far this year, more than 60,000 immigrants have crossed into Hungary illegally, the government said.
‘Clear problems’ with EU asylum rule
A spokesman for the foreign ministry in Austria said Wednesday that Hungary’s ambassador had been summoned for a meeting about the suspension of the asylum rules.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz also told his Hungarian counterpart in a phone conversation Austria would not tolerate the suspension, and the government asked the European Commission to look into whether Hungary had violated treaty obligations, the spokesman said.
A number of countries on the EU's periphery say the system for tackling migration is broken and that the Dublin Regulation places an unfair burden on them as they are usually the first destination for asylum seekers arriving in the EU.
Judith Sunderland, senior Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch, told FRANCE 24 on Tuesday that the Dublin Regulation had “clear problems” in that it places an “unfair share of responsibility … on frontline states like Hungary”.
However, she added that Hungary’s unilateral suspension of the Dublin Regulation “smacks more of demagoguery”.
Orban’s government has frequently provoked the ire of rights groups and migrant charities with its anti-immigration policies. Most recently, the country announced it plans to build a 175-kilometre-long “anti-migration” fence on its border with Serbia.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)
france24.com
24/6/15
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Austria warns Hungary it may retaliate in row over migrants...
ReplyDeleteAustria said on June 24 it might be forced to re-instate border controls between it and its European Union neighbor Hungary in response to Budapest refusing to take in asylum seekers sent to it from other EU states.
The diplomatic row between the two neighbors has further weakened the already fragile unity in Europe over how to respond to the flow of migrants into the block and how the burden of dealing with them should be shared out.
Several countries on the EU’s periphery say the system for tackling migration is broken, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s decision to halt asylum seeker transfers is the most radical step taken by any European leader so far...........hurriyetdailynews.com