Parlt passes asylum law amendments

Budapest, July 6 (MTI) – Lawmakers on Monday passed amendments to several laws relating to migration and asylum.

The bill, submitted by Interior Minister Sandor Pinter last week, was adopted with 151 votes in favour and 42 against.

The new legislation will speed up procedures for assessing the claims of asylum-seekers and will allow for economic migrants to be turned back as quickly as possible.

Under the amendment, the current two-tier asylum process will be simplified by combining the two phases of investigating the asylum-seeker’s identity into a single step. The proceedings would last until a final decision is made on the request, meaning that the asylum-seeker would be detained during the entire process. A new regulation allowing asylum-seekers to be questioned at the place of confinement also aims to speed up proceedings.

The legislation will also limit the rights for those who have submitted asylum requests multiple times to stay in Hungary while their requests are being processed.

Under the amendments, parliament has granted the Hungarian state use of a strip of ten metres within the European Union’s outer Schengen borders, to ensure fast construction of a barrier along the Hungary-Serbia border.

Gergely Gulyas, deputy group leader of ruling Fidesz, said after the vote that constructing a fence in the south would also contribute to Europe’s security. Gulyas argued that similar effort in Bulgaria and Spain had reduced immigration to one-seventh of the earlier figure.