Hungary describes EU rules on refugee as ‘dead’
Hungary, which is a transit country for refugees on their way to western and northern Europe, has challenged the European Union rules on refugees, known as the Dublin Regulation, branding them as “dead.”
"The Dublin system is dead," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjart told the state news agency MTI on Wednesday, referring to the regulation, which requires asylum seekers to be processed in the first EU member state they arrive in.
Szijjart further dismissed Berlin's latest announcement that Syrian refugees who have made it to Germany may be sent on to other European countries. The plan was in contradiction to the Dublin procedure.
"If anyone leaves from Syria toward Europe it is physically impossible for them to enter the European Union in Hungary," the top Hungarian diplomat said, adding, "Therefore it is not justified to send any Syrians back to Hungary."
In September, Hungary closed its border with Serbia using razor wire fence and police patrols, forcing asylum seekers to head to western Europe via Croatia.
Later in mid-October, the landlocked Central European country also closed its border with Croatia, resulting in the flow of refugees to be redirected to Slovenia.
In another development on Wednesday, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his country plans to tighten its refugee policies.
He said his cabinet was seeking to cut grants for refugees, shorten the duration of their residence permits, and make it easier to deport those with no permission to stay in the Nordic state.
European officials are divided over how to deal with refugees, most of whom are fleeing conflict-hit zones in Africa and the Middle East.
According to the latest figures released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 798,792 refugees have reached Europe’s shores so far this year while a total of 3,455 people have either died or gone missing in their perilous journey to the continent.
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