EU launches legal proceedings against Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic over handling of the refugee crisis

Only 12 people have been taken in by the three nations

Wednesday 14 June 2017 15:39
0 comments
The European Commission (pictured) is now launching infringement procedures against three nations, which would allow the top EU court to potentially impose fines
The European Commission (pictured) is now launching infringement procedures against three nations, which would allow the top EU court to potentially impose fines

The European Commission has launched legal proceedings against three European Union member states who refused to take in refugees.

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have been accused of not fulfilling their obligations outlined in a 2015 plan to relocate migrants from Italy and Greece, to help ease their burden.

"I regret to see that, despite our repeated calls to pledge to relocate, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland have not yet taken the necessary action," the EU's migration commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, told a news conference.

The Commission is now launching infringement procedures against the three nations, which would allow the top EU court to potentially impose fines. However, the legal battle could take months, even years, to conclude.

The Polish and Hungarian governments refused to take anyone in, while the Czech Republic initially accepted 12 people but has since said it would not welcome more.

Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski told state TV that the action "unnecessarily heats up political tensions, of which there are already too many in the European Union".

He added: "If necessary, Poland is ready to defend its legal arguments in court."

In a separate legal battle on the matter, Hungary and Slovakia have challenged the agreement altogether in a top EU court and an indication of the ruling is due next month.

Comments

Share your thoughts and debate the big issues

Learn more

Delete Comment

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?

Report Comment

Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate?

Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.

  • You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully
  • Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable
  • Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties
  • We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification

You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.

Create a commenting name to join the debate

Create a commenting name to join the debate

  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Most liked

There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts

Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines.

  • You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully
  • Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable
  • Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties
  • We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification

You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.

Create a commenting name to join the debate

Create a commenting name to join the debate

  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Most liked

There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts