Two Afghan families were forced to leave Hungary and return to Serbia this week after their asylum claims were rejected. The chief of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has spoken out about the expulsion of the Afghans - among them a pregnant woman - calling it "a serious violation of international law."
The leader of the National Rally party in France, Marine Le Pen, was in Brussels on Sunday to support the far-right Flemish party Vlaams Belang. At the same time, she extended her hand towards Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party and Poland’s PiS (Law and Justice) party. Is a block of anti-migrant parties growing in Europe?
Italy’s deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was in Budapest on Thursday to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The two leaders discussed how to forge a common European pact to combat migration on the continent and succeed in the European elections.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban praised Serbia for having accepted a border barrier between the two countries. The Hungarian government erected the barrier to stem the continual flow of unauthorized migrants into Hungary, and Orban said Serbia also benefits.
"The global assault on NGOs has reached a crisis point," human rights organization Amnesty International claims. The organisation criticizes Hungary in particular; they believe the Orban government is harassing organizations that support migrants and refugees.
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has said Viktor Orban's political party does not belong in his center-right EPP group. Orban's party has accused Juncker and the EU of purposely weakening Hungary's borders.
A human rights organization in Hungary has renewed allegations that Hungarian authorities are leaving asylum seekers without food for long periods of time in order to convince them to give up on asylum claims and leave the country. When the Hungarian Helsinki Committee first made the accusation six months ago, Hungary denied the claim.
Hungary's Viktor Orban hopes a right-wing alliance can help gain an anti-migrant majority in the European Parliament. The alliance was pitched by Italy's Matteo Salvini, whom Orban described as a "hero."
Italy passed the "Salvini decree," clamping down on asylum rights, and refused to grant entry to rescue ships. Greece struggled – and failed – to provide adequate accommodation on Samos and Lesbos. Meanwhile, Hungary effectively banned helping asylum seekers. 2018 was not an easy year for migrants and refugees. We sum up the biggest developments of the year.
Amnesty International has launched a legal challenge against the Hungarian government, filing an appeal with the constitutional court on an immigration law that the rights organization has called ''shameful''.
Hungary and Italy have pledged to forge a new alliance to change the way the EU deals with migration. Orban and Salvini have repeatedly defied the European Union by refusing to take in any further asylum-seekers.
The Hungarian government of Viktor Orban imposed a 25 percent tax on activities assisting immigration. Billionaire George Soros had already transferred administration from Hungary to Berlin ahead of tougher laws.