EU court dismisses alien challenge

– The European Union’s (EU) top court yesterday threw out a challenge from Hungary and Slovakia against a quota scheme by Brussels to force member states to admit thousands of asylum seekers.

The EU approved the controversial scheme two years ago amid Europe’s worst migrant crisis since World War II but Hungary and Slovakia went to court to block the plan, backed by other eastern member states.

The European Court of Justice said: “The court dismisses the actions brought by Slovakia and Hungary against the provisional mechanism for the mandatory relocation of asylum seekers.”

In rendering its verdict, the court upheld the right of EU institutions to “respond effectively and swiftly to an emergency situation characterised by a sudden inflow of displaced persons”.

It also held that the European Council, the body gathering the member states, “was not required to act unanimously when it adopted the contested decision”.

It was referring to the decision in Brussels to relocate 120 000 Syrian and other asylum seekers from overstretched Greece and Italy to most of the other 28 EU member states. It is part of a scheme to relocate a total of 160 000 asylum seekers.

Officials in Brussels have argued the scheme is legally binding on member states. –