At a press conference on Friday, Minister of Justice László Trócsányi announced that Hungary has put forward ten reasons for the abolishment of migrant resettlement quotas.
Minister Trócsányi said that Hungary submitted its objections to the EU quotas at the European Court on 3 December 2015. He noted that the Hungarian Parliament had approved a law obliging the Cabinet to take action against the quota system in order to protect Hungary and Europe.
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In a 25-page document, the Ministry of Justice advanced ten arguments, substantive and procedural, in favour of abolishing the quota system, he said. It is expected that the case will last one and a half years and will set a precedent, he said, adding that hopefully other EU countries will also intervene on Hungary’s behalf.
The Government of Hungary is of the opinion that the EU has mishandled the migration issue: the mandatory quota system is unacceptable both in legally and politically, he said. The Minister added that the policy raises questions related to human dignity and humanity.
Hungary’s petition to the European Court of Justice first argues that the decision on quotas lacks authorisation since in terms of EU rules and regulations it could not have been adopted, he said. The Government finds it a cause for concern that the transitional provisions on the quotas are stipulated for two or three years, whereas legal practice earlier only allowed six months for similar provisions.
Instead of obliging Member States to accept migrants from third countries, the European Union should have concentrated on extending to Italy and Greece.
Furthermore, the Justice and Home Affairs Council broke a rule on unanimous decision making stipulated in the Basic Treaty, Mr. Trócsányi said. He emphasised that the powers of national parliaments to weigh on the matter should also have been guaranteed.
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The Minister expressed his hope that the new Polish Government will intervene on Hungary’s side. He added that other countries such as the Czech Republic, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia and Finland may also show an interest.
(Ministry of Justice)
