Hungary Closes Controversial Migrant Camps in Transit Zone

Hungary Closes Controversial Migrant Camps in Transit Zone

Hungary will close the two migrant camps in the transit zones on the border with Serbia. That has been reported by Gergely Gulyas, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

 

The country is forced to take that step by Europe. The European Court of Justice has ruled that the reception is contrary to European legislation.

“The transit zone was a solution that protected Hungary’s borders, but the unfortunate decision of the European Court required Hungary to abolish the zones,” Gulyas said at a news conference.

“The 280 migrants from the camps are being transferred to other reception centres in the country.”

In the camps in the transit zones of Roszke and Tompa, migrants were held in containers surrounded by high fences and barbed wire. They could not leave the camp voluntarily.

Last week, the European Court of Justice ruled that the migrants were being detained illegally if it was not investigated on a case-by-case basis whether the detention was necessary and proportionate.

The right-wing populist government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been in conflict with the European institutions and other member states about its migration policy for years.

Even now he continued to insist that the transit camps do not violate European law. Still, the government now complies with the judgment of the Court in Luxembourg, which has the final say on the interpretation of European legislation.

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