On Wednesday 27 January, the European Commissioner for Migration, Ylva Johansson, welcomed the decision of the agency Frontex to suspend its operations in Hungary due to the practice of refoulement of migrants from Hungary to Serbia.
Confirming information from EuObserver, the Commissioner stated on Twitter that this decision, which comes after a judgment from the European Court of Justice of the EU asking Hungary to stop sending back asylum seekers, was “welcome” (see EUROPE 12625/30).
According to local NGOs, including the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Hungary has turned back more than 4,400 people since the judgment and these NGOs had asked Frontex to stop supporting Hungarian border activities. In its judgment, the Court had condemned practices of limiting access to the asylum procedure, irregular detention of asylum seekers in transit zones and operations to escort illegally staying third-country nationals to a border area without respecting the guarantees surrounding the return procedure.
At the end of 2018, the Commission brought an action for failure to fulfil obligations against Hungary.
The European Border Surveillance Agency justified this decision citing Hungary’s failure to comply with EU laws. “Our joint efforts to protect the external borders of the European Union (EU) can only succeed if we ensure that our cooperation and activities fully comply with EU laws”, said a Frontex spokesperson.
Frontex has been deploying operations in Eastern Europe and the Balkans for several years. Since 2015, these operations have involved not only Hungary’s southern border with Serbia, but also the Serbo-Croatian and Serbo-Bulgarian border, according to the Migreurop site.
They involve sending Frontex staff as coordination officers, European coastguard and border guard teams, thermal camera vehicles, patrol vehicles or aircraft and helicopters. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)