20 May 2020
The Hungarian authorities have responded to a CJEU ruling declaring that the detention of asylum-seekers in 'transit zones' was illegal by announcing a plan to enforce all asylum-seekers to present their requests from protection at Hungarian consulates.
Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
"People were stunned this morning when Gergely Gulyás, head of the Prime Ministers Office, announced that the government had decided to shut down the much criticized transit zones at the Serbian-Hungarian border where about 300 refugees had been waiting, some for over a year, for a decision on their asylum status.
...Later in the day, Gergely Gulyás announced the unexpected news during his Thursday government press conference, which was promptly reported on by all the foreign correspondents. He also announced that, from here on, those seeking asylum from the Hungarian government will have to present their requests at one of the Hungarian diplomatic missions abroad.
Gulyás made it clear that the government does not agree with the courts decision, but, as a member of the European Union, we are naturally obliged to comply with every court decision."
No more transit zones, now asylum seekers will have to apply abroad (Hungarian Spectrum, link):
See: European Court declares authorities broke EU law by detaining asylum-seekers in transit zone (AI, link)
Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.
Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.