EU court dismisses Hungary, Slovak case against taking refugees

The European Union’s top court dismissed complaints on Wednesday by Slovakia and Hungary about EU migration policy, upholding Brussels’ right to force member states to take in asylum seekers.

UPDATE: The EU executive said on Wednesday it was ready to institute court proceedings within weeks that could lead to fines for Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic if they refuse to take in asylum-seekers from Italy and Greece.

Speaking to reporters after the EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), upheld the legality of quotas for states to take migrants relocated from the Mediterranean, Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said:

“If the member states that have not relocated at all or not for a long time do not change their approach in the coming weeks, we should then consider to take the last step in the infringement procedure, taking Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to the European Court of Justice.”

UPDATE: European Commissioner Avramopoulos says he is ready to refer Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to the European Justice Court if they do not take relocated refugees in the next weeks.

UPDATE: Poland will continue to refuse to accept migrants under a European Union relocation scheme despite a ruling by EU’s highest court that Brussels had the right to force member states to take in asylum seekers, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Wednesday.

“I was convinced that such a decision would be made (by the court), but this absolutely does not change the stance of the Polish government with respect to migration policy,” Szydlo told reporters on the sidelines of a business conference.

Earlier on Wednesday, the European Union’s highest court dismissed complaints by Slovakia

UPDATE: Hungary said on Wednesday a ruling by the European Union’s highest court that member states must take in refugees and asylum-seekers was appalling and unacceptable, flagging further legal battles with European authorities over the matter.

“The Hungarian government considers today’s decision by the European court to be appalling and irresponsible,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference. “This decision jeopardises the security and future of all of Europe.”

Szijjarto said the decision was made based on political rather than legal or professional considerations.

“Politics has raped European law and values,” he said.

UPDATE: Slovak PM Fico said that he respects the court’s decision but the government’s position will not change.

UPDATE: German Foreign minister welcomed the decision and said that all European partners are expected to implement it.

In the latest twist to a divisive dispute that broke out two years ago when over a million migrants poured across the Mediterranean, the European Court of Justice found that the EU was entitled to order national governments to take in quotas of mainly Syrian refugees relocated from Italy and Greece.

“The court dismisses the actions brought by Slovakia and Hungary against the provisional mechanism for the mandatory relocation of asylum seekers,” the Luxembourg-based court said in a statement.

“The mechanism actually contributes to enabling Greece and Italy to deal with the impact of the 2015 migration crisis and is proportionate.”

The programme set up by the executive European Commission was approved by majority vote of member states in the face of opposition from formerly communist countries in the east who said their societies could not absorb mainly Muslim immigrants.

It provided for the relocation of up to 160,000 people, but only some 25,000 have so far been moved.