“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,” János Bóka, Hungarian Minister for European Affairs said in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon.
Bóka added that Hungary is and will remain a committed member of the Schengen area, and will take “the necessary legal and administrative steps.”
In a letter made public on Wednesday, Dutch asylum and migration minister Marjolein Faber officially asked the European Commission for an exemption from the EU asylum rules, saying that reducing the volume of migration to the country is necessary to “fulfill our constitutional duties—providing for public housing, health care, and education.”
While the process is ongoing, Faber said the Netherlands would support and prioritize the implementation of the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact.
The Dutch request comes only days after Germany announced the reintroduction of border checks at all its land borders in an attempt to stem the influx of illegal immigrants.
Hungary has been in the crosshairs of Eurocrats for its migration policies since the 2015 migration crisis. Yesterday, the EU Commission announced its intent to deduct a €200 million fine imposed by the European Court of Justice from Hungary’s share of the EU’s budget. The court issued the fine in June with the motivation that Hungary was “deliberately evading the application of the EU common policy on international protection as a whole and the rules relating to the removal of illegally staying third-country nationals,” something the court called a violation of EU law.
