• Hungary, new law against migrants: stricter penalties and heavier taxes for those who welcome

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19 July 2018 The European Commission has decided to refer Hungary to the EU Court of Justice for failure to comply with EU law in its asylum and return legislation. In addition, he sent a letter of formal notice to Budapest, the first stage of the infringement procedure, which concerns the new Hungarian legislation called 'Stop Soros', which criminalizes activities in support of the right to asylum and limits the right to request asylum in the country.       

In the first case, the infringement procedure dates back to December 2015; the reasoned opinion, the second stage of the procedure, is from December 2017. In particular, even if EU laws give the possibility of establishing transit areas at external borders, Hungarian legislation does not comply with the Asylum Procedures Directive, given that it allows the submission of asylum applications only within these transit areas, access to which is granted only to a limited number of people and after long waiting periods.       

Hungarian procedures are also outlawed because they do not respect the maximum duration of four weeks, in which a person can be detained in a transit center, and do not provide protections for particularly vulnerable asylum seekers. Furthermore, the Hungarian authorities do not grant effective access to asylum procedures, given that irregular migrants are rejected across the border, even if they intend to apply for asylum. 

Furthermore, the indefinite detention of asylum seekers in transit areas without respecting the applicable procedural guarantees violates EU regulations. In addition, Hungarian law does not comply with the Return Directive, as it does not ensure that return decisions are issued individually, nor does it include information on legal remedies.       

The Stop Soros legislation, on the other hand, criminalizes any assistance offered by any person on behalf of national, international and non-governmental organizations to people wishing to seek asylum or a residence permit in Hungary. The laws also include measures that restrict individual freedoms, preventing anyone subject to criminal prosecution for violating these rules from approaching transit centers, where asylum seekers are kept.       

The sanctions range from temporary confinement to prison, up to a year, and expulsion from the country. The Hungarian rules in this regard violate several EU directives, as well as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, on several points. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has concluded that the rules violate the freedoms of association and expression and that, therefore, they should be withdrawn.