NAN-F-30
Violation
Luxembourg, May 10, 2017 (dpa/NAN) The European Union committed legal violations and took hasty action when deciding to adopt a mandatory quota to relocate refugees in 2015, Hungary charged on Wednesday during a hearing at the European Court of Justice.
The hearing is looking at cases brought by Slovakia and Hungary against the EU for introducing a mandatory quota in September 2015 to redistribute 120,000 refugees from Italy and Greece across the bloc.
“This decision (by the EU) was meant to be adopted as quickly as possible at any price,’’ Miklos Feher, a representative of the Hungarian government told the court.
Hungary and Slovakia contend that procedural rules were broken during the process to adopt the quota and want the decision annulled.
The Slovakian government’s representative argued that the decision was too far-reaching and presented a change to regulations in EU asylum law.
She said that the slow implementation of the redistribution showed that the system did not work.
Judges are expected to rule in the cases in a few months.
The controversial decision to relocate refugees within the bloc was taken by EU interior ministers at the height of the 2015 migrant crisis.
Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic voted against the measure.
In spite the decision, many countries had been slow to provide commitments to resettle refugees from Italy and Greece.
Hungary, which is supposed to accept almost 1,300 refugees under the relocation scheme, has not offered to take any refugees yet, while Slovakia has only received 16 migrants from Greece.
About 800 more are expected to arrive in Slovakia under the scheme. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Ese E. Ekama