The government has decided to extend by six months the current state of emergency in Hungary in connection with “the crisis caused by mass migration”, the government spokesman said. The state of emergency will apply until March 7 next year. “It has been proven that mass immigration has heightened the threat of terrorism in Europe, and continued strict control of Hungary’s border is necessary to ensure the security of Hungarian people,” Zoltán Kovács insisted.

On another subject, Kovács said the government had assessed the latest developments in a European procedure against Poland on constitutional grounds, and assumed the standpoint that “Poland has fallen victim to double standards” applied by the European Commission. He criticised the commission for “not judging members of the community equally”, and called on the body to be a “guardian of agreements” and “leave politics alone”. </s> BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The Hungarian government has decided to extend by six months, until March 2018, the state of emergency declared early last year because of the migrant crisis.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said Wednesday that strict border controls were still needed because the “threat of terrorism in Europe has increased” recently.

Hungary’s razor-wire fences, built on its borders with Serbia and Croatia in late 2015, have practically stopped the flow of migrants through the country.

Human rights groups and international organizations have repeatedly called attention to the alleged violent treatment of migrants by police, as well the poor conditions in border transit zones where asylum-seekers are made to await a decision on their applications.

About 400,000 migrants passed through Hungary in 2015 before the fences were erected. </s> The government has prolonged the state of crisis by six months until March 8, 2018 at the recommendation of the Minister of Interior, according to government spokesman Zoltán Kovács.

The Hungarian state news agency (MTI) reports that Kovács said Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér proposed last week that the government should extend the state of crisis, due to expire on September 7. Kovács stressed the terror threat in Europe had increased as a result of mass migration, and that for this reason strict monitoring of the borders is still required for the safety of the Hungarian people.

The Beacon contacted the Ministry of Interior to request exact statistics about illegal border crossings during the state of crisis to determine whether the extension is warranted. According to the Ministry of Interior’s surprisingly swift answer, since mid-September, 2015 some 209,713 illegal border crossers were apprehended, 14,287 were detained and escorted back to the border, and 40,411 were repelled. (It is not clear what the Ministry meant by “repelled”, megakadályozás in Hungarian, but the Beacon has requested more specific definitions of these terms.)

But broken down year by year, the data paints a very different picture of migration trends through Hungary.

During the peak of the migration crisis – between September 18 and December 31, 2015 – some 189,417 people crossed the border illegally and were apprehended by authorities. In 2016, when the border fence was already standing on Hungary’s southern border blocking the Balkan migration route, the total number of illegal border crossers shrank to 19,222. This year, as of August 29, only 1,074 illegal border crossers were apprehended by authorities. The number of detentions and those repelled at the border also decreased dramatically this year compared to the previous years.

In answer to another of our questions, the Ministry of Interior revealed that since September 15, 2015, the Immigration and Asylum Office registered 37,237 applications for asylum, out of which 1,247 were accepted.

We also asked the Ministry of Interior how many times it had learned of a planned terrorist act directly threatening Hungary. The ministry’s answer is telling: “Since the initiation of the state of crisis, the Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) has not learned of any information indicating an act of terror threatening Hungarian citizens or Hungary. Europe’s terror threat is well-known.”

“Since the initiation of the state of crisis, the Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) has not learned of any information indicating an act of terror threatening Hungarian citizens or Hungary. Europe’s terror threat is well-known.” </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Hungarian government has previously rejected UN claims that it uses excessive force to expel migrants

Hungary's parliament has approved the automatic detention of all asylum seekers in container camps at the country's borders, prompting "deep concern" from the UN Refugee Agency.

The legislation was approved by a large majority of lawmakers.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said it was a response to recent terror attacks in Europe carried out by migrants.

Speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for 450 new border police, he said Hungary was "under siege".

"The migration flow has only slowed, but it is not over," Mr Orban said. "We have gained time to strengthen our lines of defence."

He called immigration "the Trojan horse of terrorism", adding: "If the world sees that we can defend our borders... then no one will try to come to Hungary illegally".

The prime minister said the arrival of Muslim migrants endangers Europe's Christian culture and identity.

"Those readying for the journey do not want to live according to our ways and culture, but according to their own - only with a European quality of life," he said in Budapest.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has fought a long battle to keep out migrants

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Hungarian government has rejected accusations it used excessive force to expel migrants

Under the new measures, all asylum seekers entering Hungary - and those currently in the country - will be confined in camps built from shipping containers while their asylum applications are processed.

Appeals against rejected applications will be fast-tracked, and those denied entry may have to cover their own detention costs.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International have raised grave concerns about the crackdown, calling it "xenophobic, fear-mongering propaganda".

"There are hardly 400 asylum seekers in the country," said a statement issued by seven groups, including Amnesty International Hungary, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, and MigSzol, the Migrant Solidarity Group of Hungary.

Gauri Van Gulik, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Europe, said the move was "beyond the pale".

"These measures will even be applied to children, a flagrant violation of international and European law," she said.

"Dumping all refugees and migrants into containers isn't a refugee policy - it's avoiding one."

The UN Refugee Agency said it was "deeply concerned" about the detention of asylum seekers.

"This new law ... will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered," it said in a statement.

Hungary's nationalist prime minister has maintained a hardline stance on migration for some years.

In 2015, when the country became a transit state for asylum seekers en route to Germany and other EU nations, he responded by building razor wire fences on the borders with Serbia and Croatia.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Hungary already has razor wire fences on the borders with Serbia and Croatia

Some 400,000 migrants passed through Hungary that year before the fences were in place.

A second, 150km (93 mile) fence on the Serbian border is scheduled for completion in May, equipped with night cameras and heat and movement sensors.

In October last year, Hungary held a referendum on whether to accept mandatory EU quotas for relocating migrants.

The EU had asked it to accept 1,294 refugees.

The referendum was ultimately invalid, as while 98% of those who took part wanted to reject the EU plan, the turnout fell short of the required 50% threshold.

In 2016, Hungary registered 29,432 asylum claims and accepted just 425 asylum seekers.

By contrast, Germany took in 280,000 in 2016. </s> Hungary's parliament on Tuesday approved the automatic detention of all asylum-seekers in container camps at the country's southern borders, brushing off concerns from rights groups.

The legislation, approved by a large majority of lawmakers, is in response to recent terror attacks in Europe carried out by migrants, according to hardline Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

All asylum-seekers entering Hungary as well as those currently in the country will be detained or moved to the container camps.

There they will be prevented from moving around Hungary or leaving the country while their applications are processed, unless they are going back over the border to Serbia.

"In the future, illegal immigrants must wait for the verdict on their asylum case in designated transit zones at the border," read Tuesday's bill, published on the Hungarian parliament's website.

It reinstates Hungary's practice of detaining asylum applicants, which it suspended in 2013 under pressure from Brussels, the UN refugee agency and the European Court of Human Rights.

Amnesty International said in a statement last month that the new rules "disregard EU guiding principles that it is forbidden to detain someone on the basis that they have claimed asylum".

"Elderly, sick people as well as families with children may also be detained (in the containers)," the rights group said.

The bill is the latest element of a tough anti-immigration stance by Orban -- who has called immigration "poison" -- which has long been slammed by rights groups as inhumane.

As well as building militarised razor wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia in 2015, Hungary has handed thousands of migrants expulsion orders for "illegal border-crossing" and even jailed some.

It has also gradually been closing down its network of refugee camps, while allowing only a trickle of asylum-seekers into the existing transit zones.

According to the government, 1,004 people have applied for asylum in Hungary so far this year.

According to government officials, the new border camps will comprise converted shipping containers built onto existing "transit zones" erected in 2015 at the southern border with Serbia.

The government says the new legislation will protect both Hungarian and EU citizens.

It says migrants have been abusing the previous rules and leaving Hungary before a verdict is reached, exposing the bloc to the risk of terror attacks.

"Any legal regulation that facilitates terror acts must be changed in the interests of our own self-defence," Orban said in January.

The 53-year-old Orban, a strong admirer of US President Donald Trump, has long taken a hard line on immigration.

He has said that a large influx of Muslim migrants into Europe poses a security risk and endangers the continent's Christian culture and identity.

Budapest has refused to take part in an EU scheme to share around the EU the hundreds of thousands of migrants who entered the bloc in recent years.

Another change in law last year enabled police to physically push back to Serbia anyone caught in Hungarian territory within eight kilometres (five miles) of the border.

The interior ministry was forced Monday to defend police against accusations of brutality against migrants, made in a newspaper article by medical aid organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

The ministry "repeatedly and categorically rejects the unverified allegations," said a statement. </s> UN refugee agency says automatic detention measure violates the country’s obligations under international law.

Hungary's parliament has approved the automatic detention of all asylum seekers in container camps at the country's southern borders, despite a fierce backlash from human rights groups.

Under the new legislation, asylum seekers entering Hungary and those already in the country will be detained or moved to the container camps.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the measure was needed as a response to "terror" attacks in Europe, citing the November 2015 attacks in Paris.

The move reinstates Hungary's practice of detaining asylum applicants, which it suspended in 2013 under pressure from human rights groups.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, immediately criticised the measure.

"This new law violates Hungary's obligations under international and EU laws, and will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered," the UNHCR said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Orban ordered the reinforcement of fences on the country's southern border.

Work began last week on a second border fence and the right-wing government extended a state of emergency that gave authorities additional powers to secure the borders. Hungary had previously built a fence on its borders with Serbia and Croatia in September 2015.

In October last year, the majority of Hungarians voted against an EU referendum aimed at sharing 160,000 refugees around the 28-member bloc through mandatory quotas.

It has since not accepted any asylum seekers allocated under the scheme.

Hungary granted asylum, or some form of protection, to 425 people out of 29,432 applications in 2016. </s> BUDAPEST - Hungary’s parliament approved Tuesday the systematic detention of all asylum-seekers in container camps, in a move that Prime Minister Viktor Orban said will make all of Europe safer from terror attacks.

Calling immigration the “Trojan Horse of terrorism”, Orban said: “If the world sees that we can defend our borders... then no one will try to come to Hungary illegally.”

The legislation will see asylum-seekers entering Hungary as well as those currently in the country confined in camps at Hungary’s southern borders while their applications are processed.

Anyone who passed through a “safe third country”, including the main entry point Serbia, will be refused. Appeals against rejections will be fast-tracked in three days. Migrants whose applications are unsuccessful may also have to cover the costs of their own detention. Unaccompanied minors under 14 will be placed in care as before. EU member Hungary previously systematically detained all asylum applicants but suspended the practice in 2013 under pressure from Brussels, the UN refugee agency and the European Court of Human Rights.

The UNHCR said Tuesday that the new legislation “will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered.”

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee said it was the “last stepping stone in completely disregarding (Hungary’s) asylum obligations under EU and international law and trampling the rights of asylum seekers.”

“We are urging the EU to step up and show Hungary that such illegal and deeply inhumane measures have consequences,” Amnesty International said.

The Tunisian suspect in the December 19 truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market that left 12 people dead was an asylum-seeker whose application had been refused. But most other recent attacks in Europe were carried out by people who were born and/or grew up in Europe. Some of those in the 2015 Paris attacks had however posed as refugees. Hungary’s government says the new camps will comprise converted shipping containers built onto existing “transit zones” erected in 2015 at the southern border with Serbia.

EU member Hungary’s border is also an external frontier of Europe’s border-free Schengen zone.

As well as building militarised razor wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia in 2015, Hungary has handed thousands of migrants expulsion orders for “illegal border-crossing” and even jailed some.

It has also gradually been closing down its network of refugee camps, while allowing only a trickle of asylum-seekers into the existing transit zones. Hungarian prisoners are also building a second “smart fence” complete with night cameras and heat and movement sensors. At the height of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, over 400,000 people, many fleeing the Syrian civil war, passed through Hungary on their way to western Europe.

This has since slowed dramatically, with 1,004 people applying for asylum in Hungary this year and 105 people crossing the border illegally, according to the government. But Orban said Tuesday that this was just a temporary lull.

“The pressure on the border will not end in coming years, as there are still millions of people preparing to step out on the road in hope of a better life,” he said.

The 53-year-old Orban, a strong admirer of US President Donald Trump, has long taken a hard line on immigration. He has said that a large influx of Muslim migrants into Europe poses a security risk and endangers the continent’s Christian culture and identity.

Budapest has refused to take part in an EU scheme to share around the EU the hundreds of thousands of migrants who entered the bloc in recent years.

“Those readying for the journey do not want to live according to our ways and culture but according to their own - only with a European quality of life,” Orban said Tuesday. </s> BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The European Court of Justice on Wednesday rejected efforts by Hungary and Slovakia to stay out of a European Union scheme to relocate refugees.

The court said that it had “dismissed in its entirety the actions brought by Slovakia and Hungary.”

EU countries agreed in September 2015 to relocate 160,000 refugees from Greece and Italy over two years, but only around 24,000 people have been moved so far. Hungary and Slovakia were seeking to have the decision annulled.

Hungary and Poland have refused to take part in the scheme, while so far Slovakia has accepted only a handful of refugees from Greece.

The refugee scheme was adopted by the EU’s “qualified majority” vote — around two thirds — and the ECJ held that this was appropriate, saying the EU “was not required to act unanimously” on this decision.

The court also noted that the small number of relocations so far is due to a series of factors that the EU could not really have foreseen, including “the lack of cooperation on the part of certain member states.”

Human rights group Amnesty International welcomed the ruling, saying Hungary and Slovakia had been trying to turn their countries into “refugee-free zones.”

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, an advocate for asylum-seekers, urged Hungary to give refugees an opportunity to make their case for asylum.

“The lesson of the verdict is that helping people fleeing war and terror is truly a common responsibility for Europe,” the group said. “Hungary needs to respect the decision of the EU court.”

Besides Hungary’s legal arguments against the EU plan, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has also made the case and the issue the focal point of its political activities since early 2015 and ahead of parliamentary elections expected in April 2018.

Hungary’s position is that only its elected leaders should be able to decide who is allowed into the country. Orban has said that the large influx of mainly Muslim immigrants threatens Europe’s and Hungary’s cultural identity.

From mid-September 2015, Hungary closed off its southern border first with Serbia and later with Croatia, with a fence protected by razor wire. The fences have mostly stopped migrants from passing through Hungary on their way to Western Europe but Hungary has also greatly reduced the chances for asylum-seekers to submit applications for protection in the country. </s> BUDAPEST, Hungary — The Latest on Hungary's referendum to oppose mandatory European Union quotas for accepting relocated asylum seekers (all times local):

The president of the European Parliament is accusing Hungary of playing a "dangerous game" by holding a referendum on whether to accept mandatory European Union quotas for relocating asylum seekers.

Martin Schulz said in an interview published Sunday that Hungary would have to take in about 2,000 migrants under the quotas.

Schulz told Germany's Funke newspaper group that the referendum called by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's challenges the legitimacy of European laws.

He also suggested that countries that fail to show solidary with the rest of the EU on the migrant issue may see their financial support from the bloc cut.

Schulz called on European leaders to make clear to Eastern European countries that "solidarity isn't a one-way street," but rejected calls to eject Hungary from the EU.

Hungarians are voting in a referendum called by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government seeking support for its opposition to any future, mandatory European Union quotas to relocate asylum seekers.

Nearly 8.3 million citizens can cast ballots Sunday between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. (0400-1700 GMT). "No" votes supporting the government position are expected to be in the great majority, though there is uncertainty whether turnout will exceed the 50 plus-one-vote threshold needed to be valid.

The referendum's question is "Do you want the European Union to be able to prescribe the mandatory settlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary even without the consent of Parliament?"

Polls show that the relentless campaign urging citizens to "send a message to Brussels" while associating migrants with terrorism has increased xenophobia in Hungary.
The Government of Hungary has decided to extend the state of emergency declared last year because of the increased migration to and through the country. Government spokesman Zoltán Kovács stated that strict border controls were still needed because the "threat of terrorism in Europe has increased".