Advocate General of the European Court of Justice Eleanor Sharpston has once again criticised Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic for failing to comply with the EU national migration quota.
“By refusing to comply with the provisional and time-limited mechanism for the mandatory relocation of applicants for international protection, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have failed to fulfil their obligations under EU law,” she said.
In response to the migration crisis that affected Europe in the summer of 2015, the Council of the European Union adopted two decisions in order to help Italy and Greece deal with the massive inflow of migrants. Those two decisions put in place detailed arrangements for the relocation of, respectively, 40 000 and 120 000 applicants for international protection.
A first challenge by Slovakia and Hungary as to the legality of one of those decisions was unsuccessful.
In December 2017, the commission brought actions for failure to fulfil obligations before the Court of Justice against three member states: Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
“In accordance with the relocation decisions, national security and public order should be taken into consideration throughout the relocation process, until the transfer of the applicant is effected,” said Mrs Sharpston.
As such, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are in breach of the rule of law, the principle of sincere cooperation and the principle of solidarity.
