Budapest has followed Amsterdam in announcing that it intends to withdraw from EU asylum rules, POLITICO reports.
Hungary will join the Netherlands in asking to be excluded from the European Union’s migration policy, a government minister said Wednesday, in another sign of the EU’s split consensus on immigration.
The new Dutch government announced last week that it intends to pursue “the strictest asylum policy ever” and on Wednesday submitted a request to opt out of some EU migration policies.
Hungary’s EU affairs minister, János Bóka said:
Drastic action is needed to stem illegal migration, the Hungarian government will join the Netherlands in asking for an opt-out from EU asylum and migration rules, if a Treaty amendment allows it.
However, amending the EU treaties is a long and complex process requiring unanimity of all member states. The Commission said at its press briefing on Wednesday that it has no plans to proceed with such changes anytime soon. European asylum and migration rules are binding and the Dutch migration minister said they will continue to implement them.
While another country responding to anti-immigrant sentiment, Germany, introduced checks at its borders, Hungary has not announced plans. It remains a “convinced member of the Schengen area,” Bóka also added.
