The European Commission has said it would take Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over their refusal to host asylum seekers.
The countries have declined to shelter asylum seekers despite an overall drop in arrivals due to tighter borders and projects beyond the EU’s frontiers to discourage migration to Europe.
They say the mainly Muslim refugees have no place in their homogeneous, predominantly Christian societies and cite security concerns given deadly attacks by Islamist militants in Europe.
The commission also said it would take Hungary to the ECJ, the EU’s highest court, over its controversial higher education law, which critics say curbs academic freedom.
The commission also took legal proceedings over Hungary’s asylum law to the next step, by issuing a formal request for Budapest to comply with EU law.
Hungary has been given a deadline of two months to respond to the latest step in the commission’s action over the law. If it fails to comply, it will also be referred to the ECJ.
