Hungary earlier released at least 2000 foreign people smugglers from prison, ordering them to leave the country. The European Commission thinks it's a violation of European law.
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The European Commission referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not complying with EU laws on migrant smuggling on Wednesday, claiming in a statement that Hungary violated its obligations to impose effective sanctions for people smuggling offences.
The European Commission recalled that in April 2023 Hungary adopted a government decree that converted prison sentences related to migrant smuggling into “reintegration detention”. As a consequence, more than two thousand foreign nationals left Hungarian prisons early and quit the country.
"This Government Decree undermines the objective to effectively tackle migrant smuggling, the deterrent factor of the EU Facilitators legislation and the joint EU efforts in countering migrant smuggling," the European Commission statement said.
The Hungarian government cited prison overcrowding and cost efficiency as reasons for the decree.
The Hungarian measure sparked diplomatic tensions in the region
The only condition for the release of the smugglers was that they leave the country within 72 hours. As Hungary is a member of the Schengen zone, most of the convicted criminals moved to Austria and then on to Western Europe.
Austria protested to the Hungarian government and strengthened border controls. The spokesperson of the Austrian interior minister said at that time that people smugglers are criminals and their brutal acts endanger people's lives.
In July 2023, the Commission sent a letter to Hungary highlighting concerns that the government decree breached EU law. Since then, Hungary has not addressed the concerns in a satisfactory manner, the Commission claimed, justifying its decision to bring the issue to the European Court of Justice.
Hungary has been approached for comment.