The EU's highest court has ruled that Hungarian authorities circumvented EU law by holding Afghan and Iranian asylum seekers in prison-like conditions. It also said Budapest was obliged to reconsider their applications.
On Thursday, a top official at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) branded the accommodation housing asylum seekers on the Hungarian-Serbian border ‘detention.’ The statement by the advocate general is non-binding and a decision will be reached by the court at a later date.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic acted against EU law when they rebuffed a migrant distribution deal as displaced people arrived to the bloc en masse in 2015.
Asurma Arab fled Afghanistan to seek safety in Europe with her family. Over two years later she remains stranded in Serbia, her family torn apart. On the last attempt to cross the border, her husband and oldest daughter managed to get past Croatian guards, leaving Asurma and three younger children behind.
The EU's executive has taken Hungary to court over the bill it passed last year making it a crime to help asylum seekers. The European Commission maintains the "Stop Soros" law is incompatible with EU law.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that countries cannot deport people who would be in serious danger in their countries of origin, even if they commit crimes. However, they could lose their refugee status.
Austria’s far-right government has pegged social benefits to German language skills and family size. While the government defended the reform, the cuts were met with criticism by opposition parties and UNHCR.
Berlin is within its rights to deport asylum-seekers to other countries in the bloc, even if they'll encounter poor living conditions there, according to the EU's highest court. Exceptions apply only in extreme cases.
The European Commission sent a "reasoned opinion" to Hungary on Thursday, January 24 regarding measures the country took to criminalize support for migrants as well as restricting the right to request asylum in the first place.
The ECJ has reaffirmed the UK's current responsibility under Dublin rules. That means British authorities must take back asylum-seekers that entered the EU via the UK, despite its intention to withdraw.
The European Court of Justice ruled against a 2015 regulation that saw Austria give minimal social assistance to refugees. Austria's conservative government has introduced a number of strict immigration cuts recently.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has criticized the European Union of wanting to take away Hungary's control of its own frontiers. The accusations come after the EU shared plans to expand its external border agency, Frontex.