The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is to rule on Tuesday if legislation in Hungary criminalizes individuals and organizations who assist asylum seekers.
Such assistance is in violation of EU law, in a major test for Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s migration policies.
Budapest has severely restricted access to international protection in recent years with the government’s so-called ‘Stop Soros’ laws a flagship policy introduced in 2018 aimed at impeding asylum seekers’ applications.
The laws draw their name from U.S. philanthropist and Holocaust survivor, George Soros, a 91-year-old billionaire active in civil society work.
The right-wing populist government have accused Soros of abetting migration to Europe in a campaign based on anti-Semitic stereotypes.
Orban, a fierce critic of EU migration policy, portrays his government as a bulwark against migrants from crisis regions in Africa and the Middle East.
Under Hungary’s legislation, asylum applicants that have passed through a so-called safe transit country, such as Serbia, will have their applications deemed inadmissible.
In addition, the laws criminalize activists and NGO workers who assist asylum seekers in placing an application for international protection, even if they are not entitled to protection under Hungarian criteria.
Tuesday’s decision comes after a top EU lawyer told the ECJ in February that Orban’s legislation was an “unjustified obstacle to the exercise of the rights guaranteed’’ for people working with applicants for international protection.
The ECJ is to make the ruling based on this argument from Athanasios Rantos but is under no obligation to follow the opinion of its advocate general.
It’s the latest showdown on migration between the Orban government and the European Commission and follows a decision last week to refer Hungary to the ECJ for financial penalties.
The referral came after Orban’s government failed to comply with a separate ruling over its treatment of asylum seekers at its border with Serbia. (dpa/NAN).
