That Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled today that Hungary unreasonably hinders the possibility of submitting an asylum application on its territory and that the assignment of applications for international protection to the Hungarian embassy in Belgrade and Kyiv is a violation of Community law.
“By making the possibility of submitting an application for international protection dependent on the prior submission of a declaration of intent to an embassy located in a third country, Hungary has breached its obligations under Union law,” the CJEU ruled.
In 2020, following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hungary issued a new law requiring certain third-country nationals or stateless persons who are on its territory or present at its borders and wish to be granted international protection to follow a prior procedure. This regulation requires that the aforementioned persons go to the Hungarian embassy in Belgrade (Serbia) or Kiev (Ukraine) in order to submit there in person a declaration of intent regarding the submission of an application for international protection. Upon examination of this declaration, the competent Hungarian authorities may decide to issue a travel document to such third-country nationals or stateless persons, which allows them to enter Hungary in order to submit an application for international protection to that Member State.
The European Commission considered that Hungary, by adopting these provisions, breached its obligations under Union law and in particular the directive on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection status. For this reason, the Commission brought an infringement action before the Court of Justice of the EU.
In today’s decision, the CJEU rules that Hungary, by making the possibility of certain third-country nationals or stateless persons on its territory or at its borders to submit an application for international protection to the prior submission of a declaration of intent to a Hungarian embassy located in a third country and by issuing a travel document allowing them to enter Hungarian territory, he breached his obligations under EU law.
In particular, the fact that Hungarian law provides for the obligation of these persons to initially contact the Hungarian embassies in Belgrade or Kiev does not equate them with persons who simply submit an application for diplomatic or territorial asylum to a representation abroad, an application for which the directive does not is applied.
The Court points out that the condition regarding the prior submission of a declaration of intentions is not provided for in the Directive and is contrary to its purpose of ensuring real, easy and speedy access to the procedure for granting international protection.
Furthermore, according to the Court, this arrangement deprives the third-country nationals or stateless persons concerned of the possibility of actually enjoying their right to seek asylum in Hungary, as this right is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
The Court considers that the intended restriction cannot be justified by the purpose of protecting public health and, in particular, by combating the spread of Covid-19, as Hungary has put forward.
The Court finds that the obligation to go to an embassy abroad, potentially exposing third-country nationals or stateless persons to the risk of contracting the Covid-19 disease, which they could then transmit to Hungary, cannot be considered appropriate measure to combat the spread of the pandemic.
Moreover, the procedure established by Hungary is a manifestly disproportionate infringement of the right of applicants for international protection to apply for international protection already upon their arrival at the Hungarian border.
Finally, the Court points out that the Member State in question has not demonstrated that no other measures could be taken capable of achieving an appropriate compromise between, on the one hand, the effectiveness of the right of every third-country national or stateless person to submit an application for international protection on the territory or at the border of Hungary and, on the other hand, the fight against communicable diseases.
Source: News Beast
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