Austria Tightens Borders After Amnesty in Hungary

Austria has stepped up security on its borders after Hungary released convicted people smugglers from the prisons.

The Guardian reported.

Last month, the Hungarian Government issued a decree that allowed for the release of up to 700 foreign detainees convicted of people smuggling, provided they leave the country within 72 hours.

Hungary’s State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Bence Rétvári, blamed the European Union for the move.

He said the decision was necessary because the EU "refuses to contribute to border controls" and claimed the EU owed Hungary EUR 1.5 billion in return for measures to protect the bloc’s external borders.

Rétvári told that there were 2,000 people in prison convicted of people smuggling, which he said was contributing to overcrowding.

The decision to release a number of them on Monday has strained relations with Austria, which has summoned the Hungarian ambassador.

"We think this is an entirely wrong signal," the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told journalists before a European Union meeting in Brussels, adding that he demanded "full clarification" from Budapest.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said they would also be seeking an explanation about the matter but said it was too early to talk about consequences under EU migration frameworks.

She added that EU member states are required to take "effective" and "proportionate" actions to regulate the bloc’s borders.

For many migrants, the Hungarian route remains an option despite stepped-up border patrols and a steel fence built by Hungary after the EU’s 2015-migration crisis.

Once in Hungary, migrants can cross the open borders of the Schengen Area to wealthier EU countries like Austria or Germany.

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó, addressing a news briefing on Monday, defended the release of prisoners, saying it was a "sovereign Hungarian decision".

More than 13% of those in Hungarian jails have been incarcerated for human trafficking, National Prison Service spokesman György Makula told.

According to police data, Hungarian police have turned back or detained more than 2,000 illegal migrants per week over the past month along the southern border with the Balkans region.