Author:

Teen Victoria

The migratory pact presented by the European Commission can fundamentally change the situation of the Hungarian government. According to the plan, if a Member State needs help in the future, other countries can choose to host their refugees or help them repatriate. Nor will it be possible to wait months at the external borders, arrivals will have to undergo a full examination in five days.

The Hungarian government can no longer single out Brussels or shirk its responsibilities: one way or another, it will have to participate in the European Commission’s asylum system. President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday a new migration pact, the most important element of which is that if an uncontrollable number of refugees arrive on the territory of one Member State, they can ask others for help. And if Brussels agrees, the countries are on a quota

they must choose between receiving eligible refugees or participating in the repatriation of deportees.

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This is what Hungary has to say about it, which has so far always violated an EU agreement to contradict Brussels. In response to the refugee crisis that erupted five years ago, the EU interior ministers adopted a mandatory quota system in September 2015, which required Hungary to temporarily accommodate 1,294 people. (This did not mean that they had automatically been granted refugee status; the Hungarian authorities could have decided to assess this).

The Orbán government refused to take charge of anyone, and even sued Slovakia in the Court of Justice of the European Communities because the 2015 European Council made its decision by a two-thirds majority. In the end, we not only lost it, but we were also convicted in April of this year for the lawsuit brought by the Commission for not complying with the mandatory quota. Orbán, meanwhile, has built a whole communication campaign against Brussels and “George Soros behind it”, which according to the government wants to free millions of immigrants to Europe.

In this context, the European Commission did not have it easy when it began to develop a new migration strategy. So far it has been clear that the Dublin system that has been around until now totally went bankrupt in 2015, but no one had any idea what to replace it. The case has been stalled for years, but Ursula von der Leyen has already spoken out in her campaign on comprehensive asylum reform, which she began working on immediately after taking office.

Three floors of reform

The German politician also highlighted in his speech prior to the presentation of the pact on Wednesday: since migration is affected differently in each member state, the essence of the system is the sharing of responsibility and solidarity. Attempts have already been made to take this into account when designing it, and representatives from the European Commission visited all EU capitals, including Budapest, last year to discuss the details.

“The whole plan is a compromise,” said Margaritis Skinász, EU Commissioner for Lifestyle Promotion. The politician compared the pact to a three-story house with different measurements on different floors.

Margaritis Scientist

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On the first floor is cooperation with third countries, that is, the sending countries. The European Commission will continue to support the countries of origin of refugees so that their citizens can live better and do not want to travel. They will also receive assistance in the fight against human smugglers and border controls. This is not new, by the way, the European Union has already provided the means and the money for this.

Much more interesting is what is on the second and third floors, these measures already contain important changes. The European Commission proposes, in the first instance, greater protection of the Union’s external borders by modifying the legal framework and increasing the role of the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex).

According to this, if someone enters the territory of the European Union, it will no longer be enough to take a fingerprint, but will have to undergo a serious health and safety control, which must be carried out within a period of five days. This also applies to those arriving across land borders and also to those rescued from the sea. The data is recorded in a common database called Eurodac, so it is immediately clear if someone has tried before but their application has been rejected. After screening, the necessary procedure can begin.

Those who come from a country where the positive evaluation of asylum applications is less than 20 percent are referred to a separate place and are subject to a border procedure. The Commission also emphasized that many of them would be rejected, in which case they should be returned within 12 weeks. Brussels will also carry out special checks to ensure that asylum seekers cannot be deported without a procedure; This is a serious message for Hungary, where this practice is common at the border fence.

And here comes the most important part of the asylum pact: the issue of mandatory quotas. They can still be requested if a Member State is in a crisis situation and requests help.

However, the other Member States can then decide how to do it:

  • host asylum seekers,
  • help with repatriation
  • or a combination of the two, or other operational assistance.

In other words, if Hungary refuses to host refugees, it must help the Member State under pressure to return rejected asylum seekers to the country of origin.

In this case, the full responsibility will lie with the so-called “sponsoring country”, so we will also have to ensure that those involved are readmitted. And here there will be no more gaps, you have to choose between one of the options.

It is no coincidence that deportations played such a central role in the proposal, with around 370,000 applications rejected each year, according to official figures, but only a third of these people are being deported from the EU. Therefore, the European Commission will also appoint a return coordinator to work with the network of national representatives to ensure that the system operates uniformly across the Union.

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Many of the plans presented are still unclear, so what is happening with countries that are not yet willing to help, and the question of full funding is open. What is certain, however, is that it will be of great help to the countries under the most pressure, especially Greece, where the largest refugee camp on the island of Lesbos recently caught fire and 12,500 people were left without shelter. Among other things, this crisis was due to the fact that the pact was announced a few days ahead of schedule, and Brussels is also building a reception center in the area.

Mixed reception

It is up to the Member States to decide on the final content and form of the proposal, so for the moment it is questionable when it can come into force, as well as what opinions of governments so far strongly oppose the quota system.

For the moment, the Hungarian government has reacted vaguely to the pact. Zoltán Kovács, Secretary of State for Communication and International Relations, told MTI: The Hungarian government’s position on migration has been clear and unchanged since 2015: migratory pressures must stop outside Europe.

According to the spokesperson, this would require cooperation with migrant countries and the protection of the continent’s borders, which are included in the proposal that has just been presented. As well as the third condition of the Hungarian government, according to which the member states of the European Union must mutually support each other in carrying out the aforementioned tasks.

And Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek has indicated that they are not entirely sure they can reach a consensus.

“This proposal is not yet fully developed, there are many aspects of the thing, but we are ready to discuss the idea,” he said.


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SPIEGEL: Germany indicates that if there is no solidarity in asylum, subsidies may stagnate


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hvg360

Angel Merkel was “annoyed” that, once again, Germany seems to be solely responsible for the refugees in the EU, and the German Interior Minister added that if there is no solidarity, they can rethink the issue of EU financial aid. .

AFP on Hungarian Refugee Policy: Two Years in Hell


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hvg360

Doors have been closed to asylum seekers, writes Vámosszabadi’s AFP report.