Hungary is new hot spot on migrant route into EU - Part 2

May 11th, 2016
Parliaments votes to cut benefits for migrants and to issue residence permits more easily
By Hungary Matters

Lawmakers passed a package of amendments that will reduce social benefits for migrants, making them eligible for “only some types of benefits that Hungarian citizens are entitled to”. The amendment restricts migrants’ stay in reception centres to just one month, from the current two. Further, the new law makes it legal to detain migrants who may later be sent back to other countries from Hungary under the Dublin III rules. Lawmakers also tightened the rules for applying for a residence permit as a significant number of citizens from developing countries had been “found to be abusing the application system in a way that later prevents authorities from expelling them”. Parliament also voted to make it easier for the state to issue residence permits “out of national economic interests”. The package was approved with 113 votes in favour, 40 against and 21 abstentions.

Gov’t spokesperson: rejecting migrant quota does not mean no to EU
By Hungary Matters   May 13th, 2016

Government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács has dismissed “as nonsense” the idea that any rejection of the European Union’s planned mandatory migrant quotas in a forthcoming Hungarian referendum would be a vote against the European Union. This charge is raised whenever Hungary criticises some aspects of the EU’s system and approach to certain issues, he said. “A difference in opinion, however, does not mean that we are against something,” he said. It is a common interest that a well-functioning, efficient and strong EU should meet the economic, social and demographic challenges it faces, he added. Kovács said the government and a “majority of Hungarians” oppose the planned mandatory resettlement of migrants to the country. The referendum scheduled for September or October will “enable the government and the prime minister to put forward a clear position which may serve as encouragement to several other member states”, he said.

Hungary: Bill Clinton comments about dictatorship offensive
Europe May 17, 2016

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's foreign minister says Bill Clinton's comments about Hungary and Poland wanting "authoritarian dictatorship" are offensive and unacceptable. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a statement Tuesday that "no one, not even Bill Clinton, can allow himself to offend the Hungarian people in this way."

Szijjarto said Hungarians chose their government in democratic elections, even if their pick doesn't appeal to Clinton. Clinton said last week during a speech in New Jersey in support of wife Hillary's presidential campaign that although the two eastern European countries "would not be free" without the efforts of the U.S., they had decided "democracy is too much trouble" and "want (Russian President Vladimir) Putin-like leadership."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been criticized before by the Clintons for perceived authoritarianism.

The Latest: Hungary stops Austria-bound van with 25 migrants

Hungarian police say they have detained five Ukrainians suspected of human trafficking for transporting 25 migrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan toward Austria.

The migrants were in one of two vans with Lithuanian license plates stopped by police early Thursday on a road near the western city of Szombathely, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Austrian border.

In another case, police said a 49-year-old Austrian man was taken into custody near the northern city of Tata after he was stopped with six Syrians, including two minors, in his car. The Syrians had registered with Hungarian authorities and requested asylum but did not have the documents needed to leave the country.

Hungary registered over 17,500 asylum requests this year by mid-May, but most of the asylum-seekers leave for western Europe before their cases are decided.

The Latest: UN urges probe after Syrian drowns in Hungary

ATHENS (AP) — The Latest on Europe's migration crisis. (all times local): 9:20 p.m. The UN refugee agency is urging authorities to investigate the death of a 22-year-old Syrian man reported to have drowned while trying to cross a river from Serbia to Hungary.

June 04, 2016

The UNHCR said Saturday that others in the group claimed they were pushed back into the Tisza River from Hungary. The agency is also concerned about allegations of the abuse of asylum-seekers by Hungarian officials, including excessive use of force.

Hungarian police rescued an Iraqi family, including three children, from the river Wednesday and said they had alerted their Serbian counterparts about the man in the river who was missing. His body was found Friday.

The UNHCR said Hungarian policies, including razor-wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia, "leave people with little choice but to put their lives in the hands of ruthless smugglers, often with tragic consequences."