Orban’s Asylum Policy Breaks EU Law, Top Court Aide Warns

(Bloomberg) -- Hungary is breaking European Union law by thwarting asylum seekers, an adviser to the EU’s top court said, just weeks after its judges issued a separate ruling cutting at the heart of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s anti-immigrant policy.

Hungary “failed to fulfill its obligations” under EU law by not ensuring “effective access to the asylum procedure” and by unlawfully detaining applicants in transit zones, Advocate General Priit Pikamaee of the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg said Thursday in a non-binding opinion. Such advisory opinions are usually, but not always, followed by the court.

EU judges last month ruled that Hungary can’t hold asylum seekers indefinitely in a transit area on the county’s border with Serbia, adding that applicants should also have the right to a judicial review. The European Commission sued Hungary in December 2018 over the policy, arguing it violates guarantees provided to asylum seekers in EU law.

Hungary Frees Refugees From Metal Boxes, Tightens More Rules

The Hungarian government has labeled Serbia, a non-EU nation, a “safe transit country” for refugees and therefore automatically rejects asylum seekers entering from there. It has also maintained that asylum seekers are free to leave to go back to Serbia and hence rejected arguments that refugees were in detention.

Hungary closed the contested transit zones after the EU court’s ruling in May, ending the practice of holding people in metal containers in such areas and in some cases, without food. At the same time, the government has further tightened the rules for those seeking asylum in the future.

The latest EU court case is no longer relevant because the transit zones have ceased to operate on Hungary’s border, MTI news service reported, citing Justice Minister Judit Varga.

“The Hungarian government will continue to defend the frontiers of Hungary and Europe and will do everything it can to stop the development of international migrant corridors,” Varga told MTI.

The case is: C-808/18, European Commission v. Hungary.

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