Speaking at the EP session, European Union Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said that all member states have a legal and moral obligation to take part in the redistribution mechanism aimed at settling 160,000 asylum seekers in the EU.

The government standpoint, state secretary Csaba Dömötör said, is that Hungary has already done more than its share by defending the borders of the Schengen area, and does not intend to cede to pressure. The EU should concentrate on defending the borders instead of trying to “push the consequences of its failing policies onto the member states”, he said.

Making decisions “behind Hungarians’ backs” about who should be allowed in the country goes against all democratic values, he added.

Two draft resolutions to be submitted to the EP this week will serve to pressure the Hungarian government to comply with the migration regulations, Dömötör said.

The resolutions, to be submitted by two different EP groups, will follow up on an EP debate held last month on the situation in Hungary mainly concerning legislation affecting the Central European University and NGOs.

One, drafted by the European People’s Party group, calls on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) to continue the debate and take appropriate steps if it finds that the Hungarian government failed to address the concerns expressed by the EU by the deadline set by the European Commission.

The other resolution, drafted jointly by the Socialists and Democrats, the liberal ALDE group, the Greens and the European United Left- Nordic Green Left, proposes preparations for activating Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Hungary, arguing that there is an “emerging systemic threat to the rule of law” in the country.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

Photo: Botár Gergely