Coronavirus: European Union to investigate Hungary’s decision to stop asylum applications

Government of Viktor Orban claims migrants are spreading coronavirus

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been an outspoken critic against mass migration. Reuters

The European Union is to investigate Hungary’s decision to stop asylum seekers’ access to transit zones because of fears migrants could spread coronavirus.

The move by Hungary led by the highly anti-immigration Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has led to accusations that the government is seizing upon a global health crisis to enforce its hard-line values.

Those without a valid visa can only apply for asylum in the transit zones since March 2017 according to The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to support refugees, inmates and victims of government violence. It said the move “effectively shuts down access to asylum”.

Speaking to Hungarian paper Nepszava, EU spokesperson for migration and home affairs, Adalbert Jahnz, said any actions to stop the spread of the virus should be based on risk analysis and scientific advice, and should be proportionate to the size of the threat.

He added that any move must be in line with EU laws on asylum seekers. Hungary is a member of the bloc.

The move to block access to the transit zones led to criticism from Gerald Knaus, the chairman of the European Stability Initiative think tank.

“Viktor Orban used this moment to abolish the right to asylum. Of course he would. This crisis is what he was waiting for since 2015. He senses that this may be the moment EU abandons refugee convention,” he wrote on Twitter.

A migrant speaks to a Greek policeman during minor clashes at the port of Mytilene after locals block access to the Moria refugee camp, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece. AP Photo

Migrants travel on a horse carriage near the Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, near Edirne, Turkey. REUTERS

Migrants hold placards as they demonstrate, waiting at the buffer zone in front of the Pazarkule border crossing to Greece, in Edirne. AFP

An aerial view shows refugees on road at Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, southwest of Edirne. REUTERS

A migrant sits next to a bonfire as others wait for a food distribution in front of the Pazarkule border crossing to Greece, in Edirne. AFP

A migrant child is passed from a truck near the Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, near Edirne, Turkey. REUTERS

A Syrian woman sits in a tent with her son as others wait for food distribution in front of the Pazarkule border crossing to Greece, in Edirne. AFP

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (4-R) with European Council President Charles Michel (C), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (3-L), European Parliament President David Sassoli (2-L) and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic (3-R) during a visit at the Greek-Turkish border in northern Greece. EPA

An elderly migrant woman is helped out of a wheelchair at the port of Mytilene on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece. AP Photo

Migrants wait in line for food and water distribution at the port of Mytilene on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece. AP Photo

Greek police in riot gear advance to push migrants away after minor clashes at the port of Mytilene on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece. AP Photo

Greek police in riot gear stand before minor clashes with migrants at the port of Mytilene on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece. AP Photo

Gyorgy Bakondi, national security adviser to the prime minister, had said there was a link between coronavirus and migration. There have been no confirmed cases of the virus in Hungary.

On Wednesday Mr Orban claimed some 130,000 migrants had already passed the Turkish-Greek border into the Balkans.

“It won’t be enough to defend the Greek-Turkish border. As a last resort… we will defence Europe’s external border,” the controversial leader said.

Physics teacher Regina O'Dwyer demonstrates how Dubai College's remote learning system works. Using Microsoft 365 and Cisco Webex - a Skype-style conference call tool - she can take pupils through live lessons as they sit at home. Victor Besa / The National

Instead of returning to school after the spring break, pupils will login from home for two weeks and watch teachers at Dubai College for each lesson. The school will remain empty except for teachers. Victor Besa / The National

Dubai College principal Michael Lambert said the teachers are preparing to use the remote system for two weeks. Victor Besa / The National

People disembarking from a UAE military transport plane, used to transport medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits provided by the World Health Organisation, upon their arrival in Iran. AFP

Workers clean the Grand Mosque, during the pilgrimage known as Umrah, in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. AP Photo

Labourers unloading medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits provided by the World Health Organisation, from a UAE military transport plane upon their arrival in Iran. AFP

Tonnes of medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits provided by the World Health Organisation are pictured at the Al Maktoum International airport in Dubai as it is prepared to be delivered to Iran by a UAE plane. AFP

An Iranian lab technician loads a centrifuge with blood samples, taken from patients suspected of being infected with COVID-19 virus, at a hospital in Tehran. AFP

A man wears a protective face mask, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, as he walks at the Grand Souq in old Dubai, UAE. Reuters

A worker splashes disinfectant in a classroom as part of sterilisation campaign against the new coronavirus, at the Evangelical School, in Loueizeh, east of Beirut, Lebanon. AP Photo

Lebanese workers spray disinfectant in classrooms and halls of a school in the coastal town of Rmeileh, 35km south of the capital Beirut in an effort to prevent a novel coronavirus outbreak in the country. AFP

People wearing protective masks are seen on a street in Kuwait City, amid a global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus. AFP

An empty classroom is seen in a private school in Hawally, after the Ministry of Edudution suspended schools and universities due to the coronavirus outbreak, in Kuwait city. Reuters

A health worker is pictured inside a newly erected coronavirus quarantine centre in Sanaa, Yemen. Reuters

Jordanian Health Minister Saad Jaber and Minister for Media Affairs Amjad al-Adaileh attend a news conference after the country's first case of the coronavirus was confirmed, at the headquarters of the Prime Minister in Amman, Jordan. Reuters

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (left) and Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan attend a press conference at the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong, China. EPA

Chinese President Xi Jinping learning about the progress on the vaccine and anti-body during his visit to the Academy of Military Medical Sciences in Beijing, capital of China. EPA

Mr Orban, who is holding talks with his opposite numbers from Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, also claimed his government’s hard-line policies against migration were becoming commonplace in Europe and have been a “success”.

The four countries have been known for their tough stance against migrants and rejected an EU plan to redistribute refugees in member states.

Mr Orban had already instructed his security chiefs to form a plan to strengthen the borders and pay increased attention to migration.

One of the most vociferous opponents of Muslim immigration into Europe, Mr Orban won a third term in power in 2018. He has become a key figure in an increasingly prominent group of conservative European leaders who have vocally opposed immigration.

During the peak of the migration crisis in 2015, he effectively sealed Hungary’s southern border with a fence. Hungary was a transit route for hundreds of thousands of migrants heading through the Balkans to western Europe.

Greece has also announced it is not accepting asylum applications but has been described by the EU as Europe’s “shield” in the face of a possible surge of migrants trying to get into the bloc. Brussels is to give Athens hundreds of millions of Euros to deal with a potential rise in illegal crossing attempts.