Hungary’s response to security challenges – regulatory background

Starting from 2015 the increased number of asylum seekers triggered a set of legislative changes in Hungary, which situated on the so-called Balkan-route has become a transit country for the asylum seekers arriving in Greece. The measures implemented by Hungary, such as the border-fence on the border with Serbia and Croatia, the introduction and constant maintenance of the ‘crisis situation’ raise critical voices from the civil society, UN agencies, EU institutions and Human Rights organizations as well. Hungary as a Member State of the EU has to comply with a set of international and supranational norms and standards. The question is that why were the existing norms inadequate to handle the increased number of asylum seekers. The legislative changes negatively affected the situation of asylum seekers in Hungary, due to the lack of procedural safeguards, judicial review and the excessive restriction of the freedom of movement pose new difficulties for the applicants.