SLOVAKIA AND HUNGARY DENY RECEIVING REFUGEES – Claim that quotas are ”illegal”

Hungary and Slovakia have expressed once more their opposition to the system of redistribution of refugees. The two countries have been brought to trial to the European Court of Justice, stating that the EU’s quota system for receiving refugees is illegal.

In 2015, the European Union reached a system of the relocation of 120,000 refugees among the 28 member states in a decision to help Greece and Italy with the most pressure from the refugee crisis, that resulted in bringing from 2014 more than 1.6 million refugees and migrants in the EU.

However, the agreement has met with strong resistance from the four Visegrad states, stressing that quotas for the allocation of refugees should be “non-compulsory”.

During the hearing in the European Court of Justice, representatives of Hungary and Slovakia defended their countries’ position against the reception of asylum seekers, which prompted the reaction of Germany and other countries that stressed the need for European solidarity.

The Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Victor Orban and Robert Fico, have sought to abandon the quota system – agreed by the EU by a majority.

Poland was the only country in the courtroom that supported Hungary and Slovakia. Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium and the European Commission have been brought against the request by Hungary and Slovakia, claiming that the fundamental principle of European solidarity is at stake in this case.

Many other EU countries are delaying implementation of the refugee resettlement program, with some 18,000 people coming from Greece and Italy in more than 1.5 years, based on the agreement that expires in September.

The Advocate-General of the Court will present on 26 July an opinion on the case, which may be indicative of the decision, which is expected to be issued in the autumn.