The European Commission decided on Thursday 7 December to refer Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to the European Court of Justice for their refusal to implement the temporary decisions of the Council of the EU dating from 2015 on compulsory relocation of asylum seekers already in Greece or Italy.
Following the launch of the infringement procedure – formal notices (see EUROPE 11808) in June 2017 and reasoned opinions (see EUROPE 11837) in July – the Commission finds that the three countries have still not demonstrated solidarity, said Commissioner Vice-President Frans Timmermans, talking to the press about European migration policy (see other article).
Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic have not taken a single asylum seeker when thousands of people eligible for relocation from Greece or Italy remain, he added.
Earlier, Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos stated that the Commission had tried to resolve the difficulties through dialogue and tried to persuade the countries. But, “to my regret”, it had to move to the next stage, he said.
Despite the fact that the European Court of Justice has already ruled that temporary programme of compulsory of the location is legal (see EUROPE 11856), the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland still refuse any involvement.
“The replies received were again found not satisfactory and three countries have given no indication that they will contribute to the implementation of the relocation decision”, says the Commission in a press release.
Thus far, more than 32,000 people have been relocated among the member states. The programme officially came to an end on 26 September (see EUROPE 11869) but there are still eligible applicants in Italy and Greece who should be relocated as a matter of priority, the Commission adds.
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said on Thursday that his country’s position remained unchanged. “We do not agree with the relocation decisions”, he declared in a press release. The Polish authorities also state that they have shown solidarity with other member states, highlighting that they have made €50 million available through an EIB programme to support neighbouring southern European countries directly affected by migratory flows.
The Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU recently proposed ending compulsory relocation of asylum seekers as part of the on-going reform of the so-called Dublin system (see EUROPE 11915).
Further step for Hungary on migration. On Thursday, the Commission also decided to send Hungary a reasoned opinion moving forward the infringement procedure on the country’s asylum legislation (see EUROPE 11790).
The Commission says that Hungarian asylum law does not comply with EU law, in particular with Directive 2013/32/EU on asylum procedures, Directive 2008/115/EC on return, Directive 2013/33/EU on reception conditions and several provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)