A Hungarian political figure from Viktor Orban’s conservative administration was recently pictured in front of an array of yellow buses. The staged scene was centred around the fictitious idea of the buses’ route starting from Roszke, a Hungarian village bordering Serbia, and ending in Brussels.
This publicity stunt was undertaken to showcase Orban’s proposition of transporting asylum seekers directly from Hungary to the European Union’s central institutions in the Belgian capital. This ongoing tension stems from disagreements between the EU and Budapest about the treatment of asylum seekers in Hungary, as well as Orban’s administration undermining the rule of law and gradually eroding various rights.
In 2020, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) deemed Hungary’s stringent measures against asylum seekers as a breach of EU law. Regrettably, the Hungarian government failed to meet a deadline to pay a €200 million penalty imposed by the court for infraventions of asylum standards.
In response, Orban seemed to draw inspiration from Republican governors in the USA, who transported migrants to Democratic cities such as New York and Washington DC. Hungary announced plans to shuttle asylum seekers who appear at its borders to Brussels, although no buses have been dispatched to date.
Despite tense relationships between Budapest and other European leaders, Orban’s latest provocative movement against Brussels has been particularly provocative. If the plan to shuttle asylum seekers between member states commences, it would be an unprecedented development.
Earlier this year, the EU’s migration and asylum pact—designed to reform and toughen asylum policy—was a major talking point. Countries are given a year and a half to implement these changes, which will grant officials more authority in making quick rulings on certain asylum cases. Despite hopes that this pact would alleviate disagreements over migration, far-right political parties have continued using this issue as a tool to sway the political balance.
In light of recent events, Germany announced its plan to conduct stringent checks at their national borders for the upcoming six months, in a bid to control abnormal migration. This move was triggered by a serious knife attack in Solingen, orchestrated by an asylum seeker whose application was declined. Prior to this incident, the newly formed progressive coalition under German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was already experiencing significant political heat from right-leaning alliances such as Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the controversial Alternative for Germany.
In France, Emmanuel Macron’s choice for prime ministerial position, Michel Barnier, former Brexit negotiator, might only be able to hold his position by pacifying Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, National Rally. Anti-immigrant political parties also form a crucial part of the new right coalition in other European nations such as the Netherlands, where Geert Wilders is at helm, and Austria, which sees the far-right Freedom Party lead in the upcoming national election. European Union countries are feeling the strain of the rise in nationalist, anti-immigrant parties resulting in an intense push to decrease the numbers of asylum seekers.
Ideas revolving around outsourcing a portion of the asylum system to non-EU “third countries” have been gaining traction. With Giorgia Meloni in power, Italy has projected to accommodate thousands of asylum seekers in Albania, where their applications would be processed. This places the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU, under intense scrutiny to permit similar arrangements in the future.
Alberto-Horst Neidhardt, an asylum expert at the European Policy Centre, expressed concern regarding the inflated attention given to migration pact reforms. The incident in Solingen has led to prominent political fallout, signalling the culmination of the initial grace period, according to him. Germans need to see the new border control measurements effectively limit atypical asylum applicants. Neidhardt airs concerns over backlash from voters if the government fails to meet expectations and goes on to suggest potential follow-on emergency border restrictions from other countries, like the Netherlands.
The potential setbacks in crossing borders within the formerly fluid travel zone of Schengen could threaten one of the significant tangible advantages of the union for the general populace. If stricter border structures begin to emerge among EU member states, unwanted responsibility will not fall solely on Orban.