Migration Policies of Denmark and Hungary and their Effects on the Current Refugee Crisis in Europe
MA Thesis in European Studies Graduate School for Humanities
University of Amsterdam
Author
Student number
Main Supervisor: Carlos Reijnen Second Supervisor: Nevenka Tromp
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
DATI Danish Agency for Trade and Industry
EC European Commission
ECJ European Court of Justice
EEC European Economic Community
EP European Parliament
EU European Union
ERDF European Regional Development Funds
(HAND) Hungarian Association of NGOs for Development and Humanitarian Aid
IO International Organizations
MLG Multi-level Governance
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
ORMA Office for Migration and Refugee Affairs
QMV Qualified Majority Voting
SEA Single European Act
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction 5
1.a. Definitions 6
1.b. Research Question and Hypotheses 8
1.c. Methodology 9
2. Historical Developments of Migration in Denmark and Hungary 12
2.a. Denmark 12
2.b. Hungary 14
2.c. Migration Policies 17
2.d. European Refugee Crisis 18
3. Multi-level Governance (MLG) in National and Supranational Contexts 22
3.a. MLG Theoretical Explanation 22
3.b. Migration in Europe and MLG 25
3.c. MLG at the European Level 28
4. Changing Migration Policies in Practice 30
4.a. Policy Responses to the Refugee Crisis: Denmark 30
4.b. Policy Responses to the Refugee Crisis: Hungary 31
4.c. MLG and NGOs 33
4.e. MLG and Security Approach 36
4.f. MLG in Hungary 38
4.g. Consequences 40
4.h. Consequence 1: The Role of NGOs in Denmark Increased 40
4.i. Consequence 2: Stricter Security Measures Implemented in Hungary 44
4.j.Analysis 47
5. Conclusion 50
Chapter 1: Introduction
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist and activist who sees the European refugee crisis as a global problem and tries to find solutions in order to terminate it. As he was a child refugee and he knows how it feels to live in a camp, he wanted to reflect his background to the contemporary European refugee crisis. By doing this, he made a documentary called “Human Flow” in 2017- featuring the stories of refugees that migrate to European countries and their institutional responses, gaining international popularity. 1 The institutional structure of the European Union (EU) cannot be a permanent solution for the Syrian refugees since member states share different opinions about how to deal with the crisis. The war in Syria created differences in the opinions of the EU member states. These variations emerged as a hindrance to the structure of the EU. The EU member states were not sure whether they should let Syrian refugees into their countries. These differences among the EU member states were seen both in political and social environments. The ideas of governments as well as civil society affected the state responses towards the refugees. For example, although Germany had a more positive stance in accepting the Syrian migrants, the member states like Sweden tried to restrict the inflow of Syrians into their countries.
The European refugee crisis affects not only the European region but also other parts of the world and globalization emerges as an important concept. Globalization made it easier for people to migrate from their country of origins to countries of destination. Not only the European region became increasingly inter-connected, but also the international mobility of people and goods started to become the main objective of countries. Due to a more globalized world, several unintended or unexpected events such as conflicts and wars started to take place not only in the European region but also throughout the world. The consequences of these disputes influenced both the country of origins and other regions of the world. The refugee crisis that started in Syria in 2010 did not remain a regional problem but bounced to the other regions of the world. The EU members states received negative impacts of the crisis from many perspectives. Although Europe is not a neighbor of the Middle East and specifically Syria, the effects of the crisis started to be seen in the EU region after 2014 such as an increase in the
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/02/refugee-crisis-human-flow-ai-weiwei-china accessed: 12 1
flow of refugees, which became a burden on the welfare states. Different measures that were taken by EU countries aimed to decrease the negative impacts of the crisis, however, growing mobility of people from Syria to the European region could not render these objectives possible. The increasing will of Syrian people to move to new destinations from their own country to survive, search for a higher life quality, and higher standards for health and education put Europe in a difficult situation. The legal amendments aiming to create opportunities for newly-arrived people were faced with challenges during the process of policy-making.
1.a. Definitions
The existence of different terms makes it more difficult to understand and express the real meanings of words. In order to analyze the migration and refugee crisis thoroughly, the thesis will begin by defining three important concepts. First of all, one of the most used words in migration literature, refugee, has a distinct place in this thesis. According to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its amendments in 1967 that was signed by 145 countries a ‘refugee’ is defined as:
a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it 2
Secondly and related to this definition, the term ‘refugee’ should be separated from the term ‘migrant’ which is defined as ‘any person who lives temporarily or permanently in a country where he or she was not born, and has acquired some significant social ties to this country’. From these two definitions it is essential to note that migrants can 3
Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. “Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.”
2
UNHCR. Accessed 5-3-2018. http://www.unhcr.org/protection/basic/3b66c2aa10/convention-protocol-relating-status-refugees.html.
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/international-migration/glossary/migrant/ accessed:
3
migrate to other countries because of both voluntary and forced reasons. Regarding this perspective, refugees are seen as a subgroup of migrants, the former being forced to migrate from their own countries due to mandatory causes. Thirdly, asylum seekers are defined as a group of people that is not granted a legal refugee status while being in the same situation as the refugees. An asylum seeker waits for the state’s decision to become a refugee according to several criteria.
On the basis of the content of this thesis, among the EU member states Denmark and Hungary have a distinct place. Although both Denmark and Hungary have fluctuations in the course of the migration policies in their histories, the last refugee crisis was a major challenge for their social and political attitudes towards the EU. In general, this thesis aims to emphasize that although both Denmark and Hungary highly restrict the inflow and settlement of refugees, their reasons are supported by contrary perspectives. For Denmark the most essential problem in accepting refugees is the fact that they have different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Since it is a homogeneous country in terms of the cultural and social structure of its citizens, it becomes harder for them to accept refugees that are coming from a totally different lifestyle. On the other hand, Hungary has totally different reasons for rejecting the refugee inflow in the country. The Hungarian government believes that the refugees threaten public security from many perspectives and it states that the most important aim of the Hungarian government is to protect its citizens from the possible threats that can emerge from the migration of refugees in the country. These threats include the public order and peace in the society for the Hungarian people.
Because they have different methods and strategies regarding the refugee inflow, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and changes in security policies emerge as two important consequences for Denmark and Hungary. On the one hand, the NGOs play an important role for the settlement of refugees in Denmark. Since the refugees travel to Danish territory and encounter many hardships, the need for humanitarian aid is provided by the people who work voluntarily for the good of the newcomers. The effectiveness of civil society changes the perception towards refugees in Denmark. However, although there are many people who support the practices of these voluntary groups, other parts of the society try to find ways to send the Syrian refugees away. These people have a negative stance towards the NGO movements and they try to challenge the existing objectives of civil society.
For Hungary, on the other hand, the security approach is an important indicator for the development of the refugee crisis. The Hungarian government believes that security should be the first area of concern for a higher living standard in the society. Hungary’s security concerns include being a transit country for the refugees to cross to Western Europe. Being both an EU member state and transit country at the same time causes conflicts between national and supranational institutions. The national interests of the Hungarian government and the supranational policies of the EU institution create a clash of opinions in discussing the situation of refugees in Hungary.
In order to explain the results of the refugee crisis, it is significant to base them on one of the theories of the EU integration. Since both the national interests of the governments and supranational practices implemented by the EU are affected by multiple actors within the state, it is not possible to explain the refugee crisis with only neo-functionalism or liberal inter-governmentalism, in which just supranational or national practices matter. Rather, in the case of the refugee crisis in Denmark and Hungary it is crucial to analyze not only the government practices but also all of the voluntary work done by the civil society, ordinary people and other institutions which are working for the settlement of refugees in the countries. From this perspective the multi-level governance (MLG) point of view emerges as the most relevant approach to narrate the refugee crisis in the case of Denmark and Hungary.
1.b. Research Question and Hypotheses
This thesis tries to examine the security approach for Hungary and roles of NGOs for Denmark as the consequences of the refugee crisis in light of the research question: ‘To what extent do the migration policies of Denmark and Hungary affect the consequences of the European refugee crisis?(i.e. the roles of NGOs and changes in security policy)’.
The hypotheses are as follows:
H1: An increase in the roles of NGOs and stricter security policy in EU member states emerge as the consequences of migration policies from before the refugee crisis.
H2: Both NGOs and stricter security policies are not considered as consequences of migration policies from before the European refugee crisis.
These hypotheses are based on European policy-making and its implications on the refugee crisis. The new policies and non-governmental actors change national policy-making and they also influence the European level policies. The national level responses on migration issues and specifically on the refugee crisis become connected to the supranational policies with the help of institutional actors on different governmental levels and policy changes in the security point of view. This thesis focuses on two EU member states in order to develop an argument for these hypotheses. Denmark and Hungary are similar to each other in terms of being two of the EU member states. However, they also have a great deal of differences regarding their economic, historical, social, and political backgrounds. Having common grounds and differences at the same time are the reasons of choosing Denmark and Hungary as the case studies of this thesis. Moreover, they have a common understanding of keeping refugees away from their borders but they do not use the same methods and strategies. This dual approach in Denmark and Hungary also makes it interesting for a comparison regarding the refugee crisis.
With these hypotheses, I aim to argue that the security approach, the NGOs and the policies that are implemented in these fields are the consequences of the recent refugee crisis both in Hungary and Denmark. I intend to prove that the difference between national and European interests and the lack of harmonization at EU-level create challenges. All of these policies that both Denmark and Hungary adopted with the development of the refugee crisis are based on an analysis at national level. This thesis however will examine these policies from a multi-level governance (MLG) approach in order to emphasize the difference between EU-level policies and domestic politics of both Denmark and Hungary.
1.c. Methodology
While explaining this link, I will base my research on secondary sources. Since migration and the current refugee crisis are sensitive subjects both for the EU institutions and member states it is a challenge for me to gather first-hand information from the governments or the EU institutions. Journal articles, policy reports, and newspaper articles are the main secondary sources that I will be using when writing this thesis. Wide range of journal articles from various academic journals will help me to assess migration history and policies of Denmark and Hungary. They will also help me
in understanding and linking MLG as the theoretical approach of this thesis to Danish and Hungarian cases. On the other hand, newspaper articles will be the main sources when writing about the contemporary refugee crisis. Since it is an ongoing debate for both the European region and other regions in the world, newspapers provide the most up-to-date information. Contemporary data on the security approach for Hungary and NGOs for Denmark as well as the responses of member states are mostly available both in newspapers and academic journal articles. Thirdly, newspaper articles will help me to connect the refugee crisis to real-life examples and their reflections on the contemporary world. By using these sources, this thesis will use a two-folded comparing and contrasting scheme. From one point of view, it will compare the migration policies of Denmark and Hungary with each other. Secondly, it will also compare and contrast older migration policies to the newer policy responses on the refugee crisis in Europe. This two-folded comparison aims to provide information about the older and recent migration policy mechanisms in the EU and member states.
This thesis aims to compare and contrast the migration policies of Denmark and Hungary with each other as well as with EU legislation. Although the two countries have had variations on migration policies in their histories, in recent years, they turned out to be the countries that encounter several bigger challenges due to the refugee migration flow to the EU region. Both Denmark and Hungary try to keep the refugees away from their borders, however, the methods and policies they use and reasons they give for rejecting the refugee inflow to their countries differ from each other. Not just the roles of Hungarian and Danish governments but also the impact of public security and the roles of NGOs compose an integral part in explaining the policies on migration. Since policy approaches and institutional actors have different objectives in the course of the refugee crisis in Europe, Denmark and Hungary constitute two of the most important member states as the examples of the refugee crisis in this thesis.
The outline of this thesis will be as follows: The second chapter will begin by explaining recent historical developments of migration in Denmark and Hungary. It will also include the roots of the refugee crisis as a separate subsection. The third chapter will focus on the MLG perspective and how this can be linked to Danish and Hungarian cases. In this chapter, history of migration in Europe will be a subsection in explaining the theory since contemporary migration policies for refugees are based on historical evidence. Moreover, in the fourth chapter, the roles of NGOs and new policies in the
security approach will be analyzed in depth as a possible consequence of the Danish and Hungarian migration policies. In the last section, the thesis will test the validity of the hypotheses and whether they are relevant for the research question. Danish and Hungarian examples have shown that older national migration policies influence their contemporary responses in the European refugee crisis. This thesis concludes an increase in the roles of civil society in Denmark and a stricter implementation of security policies in Hungary. This is supported by analyzing their national pre-crisis migration policies and by contrasting current country-specific policies to the EU-level approach.
As both of the countries are EU member states, comparing them on the basis of migration and their responses to the refugee crisis will add value to the recent academic literature on migration. This value will help to compare the national level responses to the EU level policies in Denmark and Hungary. In terms of practicality, this thesis can create a comprehensive outlook on two EU member states with perceived anti-migration policies and their historical differences in terms of political and social developments. Moreover, the research conducted in this thesis as well as the effects of national policies in Denmark and Hungary can contribute to the analysis and future policy-making process at European level.
Chapter 2: Historical Developments of Migration in Denmark and Hungary
The concept of migration is an old phenomenon for both Denmark and Hungary. Although the current refugee crisis has been an important setback for the organization of migration policies of both the countries, the historical developments also have an impact on the contemporary world. In order to explain today’s refugee crisis in both Denmark and Hungary, it is significant to date back to the developments of migration. The 1980s for Denmark and the Second World War (WW2) for Hungary can be seen as the starting points of their modern migration history.
2.a. Denmark
The Danish political situation in the 1980s influenced the opinions of the Danish people on migration. However, until the 1990s it was not a politicized issue in the Danish government. The migration problem started to become an important part of the electoral campaigns during the 1998 elections. The emergence of the new right-wing Danish People’s Party in 1995 emphasized the anti-migration policies in Denmark. The influence of the right-wing party increased with the addition of Liberals and Conservatives to the government in the 2001 elections. For the establishment of the government, a coalition was needed including the Danish People’s Party, Liberals, and Conservatives. After the formation of the coalition the restrictions on the immigrants increased due to the negative stance of the government. This situation continued in the 4 2005 elections. However, with the power of a new centre-left government composed of Social Democrats, in 2011 Denmark started to adopt integration policies regarding the participation of migrants to the society. 5
Besides the political background in Denmark, judicial developments on migration took place in the Danish government. The legal perspective of Denmark in the migration field started with the policies of the 1990s. The 1999 ‘Integration Act’ paved the way for the integration of migrants in the society. With this Act, the immigrants were participating in a program where they were taught important practices
Mouritsen et.al. “Researching Third Country National’s Integration as a Three Way Process: Immigrants, Countries of
4
Emigration, and Countries of Immigration as Actors of Integration” p.7
Mouritsen et.al. “Researching Third Country National’s Integration as a Three Way Process: Immigrants, Countries of
5
and values needed to integrate in the Danish society. The Act also facilitated the process of gaining a residence permit from the Danish government for the migrants. The Danish government made the ‘integration programme’ obligatory for immigrants in order for them to gain a permanent residence permit and to benefit from the ‘introduction allowance’. The ‘introduction allowance’ was given to immigrants who could not support themselves and it could have been taken away if they would not have fulfilled the ‘integration programme’. In 2013, an amendment to the Act consolidated the 6 national objectives on migration. The government provided the Danish municipalities the role of strengthening the integration process for immigrants. The incoming immigrants were asked to participate in the ‘integration plan’ by the municipalities in order to become much more united with the Danish society in schooling, sports and work training fields. 7
Furthermore, the Danish government asked immigrants to sign both a contract and a declaration in the course of their integration process. The immigrants were asked to fulfill the criteria described in the so-called ‘Compulsory Contract of Integration’ and ‘Declaration of Integration and Active Citizenship’ with the aim of becoming more integrated into the society. Both of these documents expected the immigrants to value the Danish laws, language, and culture as well as freedom of speech, respect and gender equality. The contract also involved the ‘introduction of the immigrants into the labour market or education’. In order to provide these capabilities to the newcomers the program provided language, social and cultural elements of the Danish society. The 8 efforts of the Danish government continued with the creation of a ‘National Integration Barometer’ in 2012. The barometer aimed to check the performance of the integration process by measuring the criteria within the fields of employment, education, and equal treatment. The objectives of the integration policy also included the development of urban areas, the prevention of marginalization of immigrant youth and strengthening the reception of new immigrants in the country. Both the municipalities and national authorities have the chance to access these barometers within their own governmental
https://www.cesifo-group.de/ifoHome/facts/DICE/Migration/Migration/Integration-of-Immigrants/nat-integr-plan-66
migrants/fileBinary/nat-integr-plan-migrants.pdf accessed: 12-03-2018
Mouritsen et.al. “Researching Third Country National’s Integration as a Three Way Process: Immigrants, Countries of 7
Emigration, and Countries of Immigration as Actors of Integration” p.11
https://www.cesifo-group.de/ifoHome/facts/DICE/Migration/Migration/Integration-of-Immigrants/nat-integr-plan-8
levels. With this information it became easier for both national and local authorities to 9 assess the needs of their citizens.
2.b. Hungary
Not only Denmark is an important country in terms of history of migration, but also the Hungarian government has had both political and legal developments in the field of migration. Hungary has been dealing with the migration issue since the WW2 era. The mass population displacement after the end of the WW2 caused Hungary to adopt restrictive measures towards the immigrants. Even though there were notable measures on migration by the government, the Hungarian revolution against the Soviet ruling in 1956 was a milestone in Hungary’s migration history. Due to the political instability in the country, the then Hungarian leading party, the Hungarian People’s Party, was obliged to open the country’s borders on Austria’s side, allowing many people to emigrate to other global regions such as Canada, Western Europe, and the United States. The main aim of migrants was to move towards non-socialist countries. The outflow of citizens from Hungary to other countries was a major challenge for the Hungarian government in organizing the migration flows in the country. The emigration of Hungarian people continued until 1961 but it started to decrease until the 1980s. 10 With the collapse of Communism, Hungary encountered high rates of emigration in the 1990s. Immigration to the country was also visible during the same years since many Hungarian people returned to their country after the long years of living abroad.
Hungary’s accession to the EU in 2004 was a major milestone for the migration flows in the country. The emigration of the Hungarian citizens to other EU countries started to increase due to new job opportunities in the EU region. The EU countries such as Ireland, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany opened their borders for Hungarian citizens between the years of 2004 and 2011. However, this outflow of Hungarian citizens caused the Hungarian economy to fluctuate in 2007. One of the main reasons why the Hungarian economy could not overcome the economic
Jørgensen, Mar n Bak. 2014. Decentralising immigrant integra- on: Denmark’s mainstreaming ini a ves in 9
employment, educa on, and social a airs. Brussels: Migra on Policy Ins tute Europe. p.3-4
Gödri et.al. “Migration Trends and Socio-Economic Background in Hungary: A Longer-Term Historical
10
stagnation between 2008 and 2010 is the fact that mainly educated people emigrated towards the EU region. 11
Besides the historical developments of migration in Hungary, the legal practices implemented by the Hungarian government changed the course of events regarding the migration issue after the 1980s. These changes were composed of legal developments in the field of migration. The first legal development took place in 1989 with the ‘Constitutional Reform’. With this reform, Hungary emphasized a political transition and started to adopt democratic values. The democratization attempts of Hungary began with a change in political leadership. The replacement of Jànos Kàdàr with Kàroly Gròsz after the Soviet impact on the country until 1990 and a political transformation in the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party were major steps towards a new system in Hungary. Although the ‘Constitutional Reform’ of 1989 was seen as a new development in Hungary, it was an amendment to the 1949 constitutional text, after long discussions between the government and the opposition. Rule of law, separation 12 of powers, respecting human rights, acceptance of international law, and a functioning market economy were the main aims of the Hungarian government when accepting the amendments of the Constitution in 1989. 13
This change in the Constitution also had impacts on migration in Hungary. The changes enabled the Hungarian government to increase the rights of migrants. This emphasis on human rights was one of the crucial elements of consolidating the rights of migrants in the country. With the constitutional reform the migrants living in Hungarian territory started to gain ‘the right to freedom and personal security’ and non-discriminatory values within the country. Hungary’s status of being a migrant sending 14 country changed to a migrant receiving country. On the other hand, its status of a closed
Gödri et.al. “Migration Trends and Socio-Economic Background in Hungary: A Longer-Term Historical Perspective” 11
p.12-13
Convertini, Marco. “Hungarian Constitutional Reform. The Fundamental Law in Hungary's Democratic 12
Framework.” Accessed March 9, 2018. http://www.academia.edu/11717454/
Hungarian_Constitutional_Reform._The_Fundamental_Law_in_Hungarys_Democratic_Framework. p.6-7
Pogany, Istvan. (1993). “Constitutional Reform in Central and Eastern Europe: Hungary’s Transition to Democracy.” 13
p.340
Pogany, Istvan. (1993). “Constitutional Reform in Central and Eastern Europe: Hungary’s Transition to Democracy.” 14
country with a limited number of migration flows transformed into the status of a transit country with the addition of migrants from the neighbouring countries. 15
The developments in the 1990s played a significant role for the establishment of a new era for migration in Hungary. Although the constitutional attempts in 1989 tried to extend the rights of migrants within the country, the 1993 ‘Act on Hungarian Citizenship’ and the ‘Act on Entry, Residence and Settlement of Foreigners in Hungary’ a.k.a. the ‘Alliance Act’ had a negative impact on migrants. The rights of migrants were restricted with these Acts. Hungary did not guarantee the citizenship rights of ethnic Hungarians who were living in neighbouring countries such as Romania. The reason for this limitation was based on both nationalistic aspects of the country and a possible economic burden of new immigrants to the Hungarian economy. The second reason of 16 this restriction from the Hungarian government is that it did not wish to encourage the return of ethnic Hungarians from neighbouring countries. In 1997 the emergence of 17 the ‘Act on Border Control and the Border Guard’ and the 1998 ‘Act on Asylum’ consolidated restrictive measures towards migrants. The Act on Border Control was aimed to control the border traffic and prevent international organized crime. Its role then became more important with the emergence of illegal immigration in Hungary as the country became a transit country for illegal immigrants in Europe. Moreover, according to the Act on Asylum, migrants were regarded as a ‘temporary protected person’ or a ‘person authorized to stay’ under the status of ‘refugee’. This change in status of migrants indicated that the migrants were not divided according to their country of origins, which was the case before the legislation, but based on authorization to stay. The new Act also paved the way for a new development, namely that the administration of asylum applications was transferred from police control to civil control with the establishment of a new unit called ‘Office for Migration and Refugee Affairs’ (ORMA). With the creation of this new institution, asylum seekers gained the right to initiate a judicial review in case of a denial of their asylum applications. Their 18 rights increased on the basis of ORMA, which enabled refugees to claim their rights.
Gödri et.al. “Migration Trends and Socio-Economic Background in Hungary: A Longer-Term Historical Perspective” 15
p.12-13
Brubaker (1998). “Migrations of Ethnic Unmixing in the ‘New Europe.” p.1055 16
Skrentny et.al. (2007). “Defining Nations in Asia and Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Ethnic Return Migration 17
Policy.” p.816
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/workingpapers/libe/104/hungary_en.htm?textMode=on accessed 12-03-2018 18
Taking into account the historical developments of both Denmark and Hungary, this chapter will continue with comparing and contrasting the background of their migration policies. Regarding the commonalities and differences of both Danish and Hungarian historical developments on migration, it is significant to state that both of the countries followed consistent policies. Although the Hungarian history on migration constitutes a longer era, Denmark implemented efficient measures for the integration of migrants in the country. First of all, in both of the countries the political situation affected the evolution of migration policies and changed the course of events from many perspectives. In other words, both of these countries tried to create a peaceful environment by eliminating the negative effects of migration, which had become a politicized issue. The political transformation in the Danish case and both the WW2 and democratization attempts in Hungary placed the immigrants in these countries in a distinct position. The second commonality arises from the fact that both Denmark and Hungary had two separate political eras in their histories. These eras reflect that migration was seen as a process both in Hungary and Denmark and they both needed time to establish a strong legal and political basis in order to eliminate challenges for migrants.
2.c. Migration Policies
It is also important to consider the content of these migration policies in these countries. In the first case, the Danish government worked on the integration of immigrants into the society. For Denmark, in the 2000s, it was important to create an organized structure for migration. In order to fulfill this aim, Denmark started to make the family reunification and asylum status harder to obtain. On the other hand, it became easier for immigrants to be granted the status of labour migrant or student. With these policies, Denmark aimed to increase the self-sufficiency in the national labour market and paved the way for immigrants to integrate themselves into the Danish society. In Hungary, on the other hand, the inflow of migrants into the country was 19 based on ethnicity during the 1990s. Many migrants from neighbouring countries such as Romania and Ukraine immigrated to Hungary. Due to the stagnation of the Hungarian economy since 2008, the immigration from neighbouring countries
Jørgensen (2014). “Decentralising immigrant integra- on: Denmark’s mainstreaming ini a ves in employment, educa 19
decreased. However, Hungary continued to be a migrant receiving country , with 20 ethnicity and economy as determinant factors for the migrant inflow. The country aimed to increase the restrictive policies unlike Denmark’s integration stimulating policies towards the newcomers. Both the political instability in Hungary and the role of the neighbouring countries on immigration decreased the migrant inflow and influenced migration policies.
2.d. European Refugee Crisis
The above analyzed historical developments have a great effect on contemporary European migration issues. This thesis aims to create a connection between early migration policies and the contemporary refugee crisis in Denmark and Hungary. In order to present a comprehensive analysis of this relation, this section will examine the roots of the recent refugee crisis and its impacts on the EU region.
The origins of the Syrian refugee crisis date back to the uprisings that happened not only in Syria but also in other Middle Eastern countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. The main thought behind these uprisings constituted a search for political stability and peace. A transition from dictatorship to democracy was a major objective. It was however not a smooth transition since it caused long-term and serious setbacks to Syrian citizens. Tunisia was the first Middle Eastern country that experienced the so-called Arab Spring, eventually turning into a civil war in Syria. In 2010, a policewoman confiscated the cart of a vegetable peddler named Mohammed Bouazizi in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzida, after which he put himself on fire and died. This incident became a major symbol of the fight for a more equal and just world with democracy in the Middle East. The incident of Mohammed had a spill-over effect in Egypt. It became the second country forcing its leader, Hosni Mubarek, to leave power after 30 years of dictatorship in February 2011. Many protests had taken place in the country for a long time, leading to many deaths by the security forces. It was only when the army left Mubarek’s side that the latter was forced to leave his position as a dictator. This event was celebrated at the Tahrir Square in Cairo. Consequently, just 4 days after the uprisings in Egypt, the arrest of human rights lawyers in Libya led to a
Gödri, Irén – Soltész, Béla – Bodacz-Nagy, Boróka (2013). “Dynamic Historical Analysis of Longer Term Migratory, 20
Labour Market and Human Capital Processes in Hungary. Country report developed within the project ‘SEEMIG Managing Migration and Its Effects” p.31-32
great deal of protests against the government leader Muammer Gaddafi. Although security forces tried to stop the protesters, they took control of the second city of Benghazi within three days. The protests continued to weaken the government until October 2011, when Gaddafi was killed in Sirte. 21
The developments in the discussed countries occurred in only a short period of time and still continue to impact the larger region. Syria was also influenced by the idea of a possible transition to democracy. Although the Syrian protests started with the same ideologies the situation turned into a civil war as a consequence of mass mobilization against the authoritarian regime. Many people were forced to move away from their houses and migrate to other parts of the world because of increasing violence that was taking place between the government and the opposition. Due to decreasing life standards and a lack of humanitarian aid, migrants found themselves in desperate situations. The effects started to become visible not only in Syria but also in many other countries that they migrated to. As a result, it turned out to be a global problem in which many regions were and still are affected by the negative consequences of the Syrian civil war.
In Europe, the effects of the civil war started to become much more serious with the immigration of Syrian people to EU countries. In 2015, the civil war was transformed into a crisis that affected the whole region. EU domestic politics and security was challenged by the influx of people entering the EU region irregularly. This sudden inflow led to unintended consequences on the national interests of member states. High life standards of natives were influenced negatively and the inflow was perceived as a burden in the fields of health, education, and employment. Most of the refugees entered the European region from the southern and Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Italy. The high numbers of refugees caused political and structural hardships to both the member states and EU institutions. Here Borjas’ ‘welfare magnet 22 hypothesis’ emerges as an indicator for explaining why European countries are attractive for refugees coming from countries where living standards are lower. His theory argues that generous welfare policies constitute a pull factor for refugees. 23
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8839143/Arab-Spring-timeline-of-the-21
African-and-Middle-East-rebellions.html accessed 25-05-2018 Koroutchev (2016). “The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Europe” p.29 22
Giulietti and Wahba. Welfare Migration IZA Discussion Paper 23
The next section will analyze the impacts of refugees in the European region by focusing on three factors. First of all, the existing EU policies as described in the Dublin Regulation were questioned by many of the member states. The ‘Dublin Regulation (…) mandates that asylum requests [are] processed in the country of first entry’, which is an important indicator for the first entries of refugees. This regulation, according to an article of Heisbourg, put barriers on refugees who are seeking for asylum in European countries. The Dublin Regulation however did not prove an effective method to prevent refugees from entering the European borders. Countries like Greece and Italy received large numbers of refugees and could not handle the situation by means of domestic policies only. As a result of the population flow, effects of the refugee crisis leaped to the supranational level. The second factor addresses the political attitude of the Baltic states, constituting a drawback for the efficiency of EU migration policies. Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic were three countries that were trying to keep the refugees away from the Baltic region as much as possible. Anti-refugee campaigns and attitudes created difficulties in accepting a burden-sharing ideology among EU institutions and member states. As a third factor, Heisbourg also claims that Europe became much more divided between ‘well-managed’ countries such as Germany and the Scandinavian countries and other member states. Similar attitudes of both Germany and Sweden were based on their solidarity in different historical time ranges. For Germany on the one hand, the Yugoslav conflict of the 1990s was a major reason to impose restrictions on the large number of immigrants coming from the conflict area. The country changed its policies towards the Syrian refugees after famously disregarding the Dublin Regulation in August 2015. German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the Dublin Regulation by stating ‘refugees must be distributed fairly’. 24 Sweden on the other hand, showed much more solidarity to the Syrian refugees by accepting them as asylum seekers from the beginning. In other words, these three developments that took place in the first year of the refugee crisis underlined the importance of both member states and the EU as a whole. 25
In terms of the historical contextualization of the refugee crisis, Denmark and Hungary have held and still hold a unique place within the European perspective.
https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-angela-merkel-refugees-must-be-distributed-fairly/a-40255712 accessed: 24
28-06-2018
Heisbourg (2015-2016). “The Strategic Implications of the Syrian Refugee Crisis” p.7-12 25
Although they experienced similar trends in terms of responses to the refugees, two different consequences of the crisis can be identified. Firstly, in the Danish case, the role of NGOs has increased. Secondly, in the Hungarian case, policy responses created a new stance within its security approach. These consequences will be examined in depth in the fourth chapter. For now, the next chapter will analyze the multi-level governance (MLG) approach, a perspective of European Integration, and apply it to the Danish and Hungarian case including historical aspects of migration for the European region as a whole.
Chapter 3: Multi-level Governance (MLG) in National and Supranational Contexts
European integration can be explained by different approaches, which makes the term debatable from both a European perspective and a national point of view. The multi-level governance (MLG) framework has been created as a tool for gathering local, regional, national, and supranational characteristics of the EU. EU integration consists of several political, social and economic factors, all of which can be explained differently from the MLG perspective. Since MLG corresponds to all of these factors and developments, the theory has become very important in order to analyze European integration. Not only political but mainly economic developments took place during the years in which the European Economic Community (EEC) was established. The integration of the EEC was strengthened with the signing of Single European Act (SEA) and the adoption of Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) in the Council of Ministers in 1986. With the goals of Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1993, EU competencies continued to increase. This allowed the European Parliament (EP) the right to veto by adding to the scope of QMV. 26
3.a. MLG Theoretical Explanation
The origins of MLG date back to the 1980s. Marks and Hooghe developed an alternative framework to European integration and are considered as the founders of the MLG perspective. Stephenson (2013) observed three important developments within European institutions: the creation of Structural Funds in 1988, the Single Market in 1992, and the signing of the Treaty on the European Union in 1992. All three have played an important role in order to explain the link between different levels of government. Marks identifies MLG as: 27
a system of continuous negotiation among nested governments at several territorial tiers’ as a result of ‘a broad process of institutional
Maks, Gary, Liesbet Hooghe, Kermit Blank (1996). “European Integration from the 1980s: State Centric v. Multi-26
level Governance” p.342
Paul Stephenson (2013) “Twenty years of multi-level governance: ‘Where Does It Come From? What Is It? Where Is 27
creation and decisional reallocation that had pulled some previously centralized functions of the state 28
In light of this definition, the ideological principle of ‘subsidiarity' arguably corresponds to the characteristics of MLG. Both Marks and Hooghe questioned the teachings of European integration literature and argued that not only fixed state interests or supranational policies should matter but also ‘flexible arrangements’. The existence of these arrangements should distribute responsibilities between the national and supranational level. In a European context, MLG presents three important elements that other perspectives cannot sufficiently grasp. First of all, the EU has institutions that work on the basis of policies and member states have the right to approve or disapprove those policies. Secondly, different national foreign and security policies are interconnected with EU legislation such as the Dublin Regulation. Finally, the MLG point of view enables the elimination of a liberal inter-governmentalist approach in the sense that it is not based on national interests, but rather sees decision-making as a linked process of both domestic and foreign policies. 29
In the academic literature we see a wide range of discussion regarding where and how the MLG approach is mostly applicable. Since the theory captures the link between institutions on a national and supranational level, it is important to specify the extent of responsibilities of both levels of institutions. This can be done with two concepts, namely centralization and authority. These two terms are key elements of the debate regarding MLG. The organization of actors and the way in which institutions communicate with each other influences the level of European integration. MLG argues that in some cases local and regional levels of government should take over the responsibilities so that powers are exercised as close to the citizen as possible. This idea is an important determinant for a transition from a state-centric model to a multi-level approach. However, although MLG supports the existence of various actors in various levels of government, the theory puts forward two important types of structural formation. The first governance type highlights federalism in which states share limited and specific responsibilities and policy-making takes place mainly on national and
Paul Stephenson (2013) “Twenty years of multi-level governance: ‘Where Does It Come From? What Is It? Where Is 28
It Going?” p. 820
Smith (2004) “Toward a Theory of EU Foreign Policy Making Multi level Governance Domestic Politics and 29
supranational level. The individual governments and, in our case, the EU remain the responsible actors in this case. The second governance type, on the other hand, emphasizes on a larger amount of sharing among different levels of government. The decision-making then takes place in every administrative level and is based on the type and scope of tasks needed for that region or state. It is also significant to state that in the second governance type, the jurisdictions appear to be more flexible when compared to the first type of governance. Both of these governance types share common features since they are both questioning the effectiveness of a centralized authority but they have a different way of distributing the authority into governmental levels. 30
MLG explains the link between the roles of states and actors in the society. The decisions taken on national levels, on the one hand, and the role of the actors and institutions, on the other hand, influence authority and policy-making within the EU. The distinction between national and European interests is based on two factors and is connected to European integration. The first factor relies on the idea that national decisions are inferior in the case of full European integration. Here, national interests do not matter as much as the interests of the EU as a whole. The second factor, on the other hand, emphasizes that European integration is a gradual process where not only state interests matter, but that multiple levels of governments are involved in the policy-making field. The MLG takes the second idea and applies it to the EU. According to the theory, policy-making should not be monopolized by EU institutions, but rather be distributed among several administrative levels. In the MLG approach, so-called ‘supranational’ EU institutions such as the European Commission (EC), the European Court of Justice (ECJ), and the EP exert interdependent influences on decision-making procedures for European integration. In other words, the authority of EU institutions cannot be held back by only national preferences. Moreover, the existence of transnational associations creates a link between political perspectives within member states. From this point of view, states emerge as the actors that mediate local, regional, national and European level decision-making. 31
Following the previous theoretical explanation of MLG, the second part of this chapter will focus on the way in which MLG can be applied to the history of migration
Hooghe et.al. (2003). “Unraveling the Central State, but How? Types of Multi-level Governance” p.233-237 30
Maks, Gary, Liesbet Hooghe, Kermit Blank (1996). “European Integration from the 1980s: State Centric v. Multi-31
and EU level policies. Although MLG has been created as a theory that explains European integration, this thesis will apply MLG to EU member states. The reason behind this approach is that there are many local levels of government and civil society organizations that influence and deal with the refugee crisis. In line with the research question, which connects MLG to individual states, this thesis does not only interpret the MLG approach as a European phenomenon but emphasizes its importance and relevance to national level politics by focusing on Denmark and Hungary.
3.b. Migration in Europe and MLG
In order to create a connection between the MLG approach, the refugee crisis and the EU, it is convenient to include a historical contextualization of migration within the EU. Although the history of migration plays a minor role in explaining the theoretical perspective of this thesis, the historical information helps to assess the contemporary refugee crisis within an EU context. Since this research aims to examine the link between overall migration policies of both Denmark and Hungary and their policy responses to the contemporary refugee crisis on the basis of MLG approach, this section will provide information on major historical developments of migration in Europe. This dual rationale of the MLG connection to both history of migration and contemporary policy responses on the refugee crisis creates a comprehensive framework in explaining the refugee crisis from a Danish and Hungarian perspective.
The long-lasting migration background of the European region is mostly based on the eras of industrialization in the 18th and 19th century. Life styles of urban and rural areas in Europe started to be transformed by effective chain migration. Industrialization attempts paved the way for an increase in the number of employment opportunities. Many people migrated from rural areas to urban areas in order to find long-lasting jobs. The scale of migration increased due to the augmenting chain migration, that increased due to accommodations and transportation as well as new job opportunities. Moch aditionally argues that not only chain migration changed the migration history of Europe, but also local and circular migration had a great impact on the European migration history. According to her model, European workers migrated to rural areas annually for agricultural jobs. From the opposite perspective, workers also chose to migrate to urban areas, which led to the development of urban infrastructure.
All of these migration flows had an influence on the local migration formations in Europe. 32
Another important factor that impacted the history of migration in Europe involves political changes that took place between the First World War (WW1) and the Second World War (WW2). Both Italy under Mussolini and its negative stance towards France, as well as the alliance between Germany and Italy and the state of conflict between these two countries and the allied forces influenced immigration immensely. In Italy, Germany, and France newly arrived immigrants stayed out of the war-torn and bombarded cities and integrated outside of the cities in peripheral areas, where conflicts were relatively less visible. 33
A third factor also took place in the twentieth century. The economic stagnation after the crash of 1929 influenced the European labour force negatively. The increasing impact of the Great Depression and the politicized xenophobia in Germany caused a decrease in the mobility of European workers. Polish workers, for example, encountered discrimination and racism and migrated to industrial areas in France for new job opportunities in factories and mines. The economic crisis of the 1930s changed the French hospitality of receiving Polish immigrants into a more reluctant French attitude. Due to the economic concerns within the country, France was obliged to transform its migrant-welcoming policy into a policy of full exclusion of foreign workers. Although the migration of workers continued within the European region, 34 migrants, constituting an important part of the European society with different age groups, backgrounds, and families, found it difficult to integrate in European cities. The history of migration in the European context presents a significant point of view for the recent, contemporary, and future policy implications of the EU in the field of migration. It is important to state that history has contributed greatly to the European response to migration. When considering recent developments, European institutions have increased their competencies on decision-making procedures in the field of migration. The addition of new member states to the EU led to a need for creating common policies on the basis of border control and visa applications. New member
Lynch (1997) "European Migration History Writ Large and Small” p.461 32
Moch (2013). “Lessons and cautionary tales from the past: Building bridges from migration history to 33
Europeanness.” p.14
Moch (2013). “Lessons and cautionary tales from the past: Building bridges from migration history to 34
states have made the EU ethnically and culturally more diverse. The enlargement procedures that the EU implemented in candidate countries established a way of transferring supranational policies to national level. Furthermore, collaborations with the new EU neighbors- the third countries- were influenced and decreased the flow of migrants to the European territory.
Policy-making in the EU is based on a bargaining process between institutions and national governments of member states. The MLG approach supports the idea that decisions are taken by supranational institutions, whereas regional and local organizations have the right to gather and present their interests to the European institutions, hoping to exert influence on decisions. According to Marks et.al (1996), the European policy-making process is divided into three stages: Policy initiation, decision-making as well as implementation and adjudication. EU institutions play a different 35 role in all of these stages. In terms of policy initiation, the MLG perspective ensures that the Commission exerts an ‘autonomous influence’ over the agenda by initiating draft legislatives. However, interest groups and subnational organizations also play a crucial role in the agenda-setting of the EU. The EU not only shares its competences with regional and local institutions but also state executives have responsibilities in the making of the policies. Decision-making, the next stage, constitutes a higher degree of national government controls. Member states try to adapt draft legislations so that they match their national interests. The legislative power of the Parliament and the objectives of interest groups emerge as alternative driving forces that impact decision-making. In terms of implementation and adjudication, the MLG approach is most visible since the responsibility of implementation of EU level decisions is distributed among different actors. Although the Commission states the possible methods of implementation and reflects on the effectivity of implemented legislations, local, regional and national levels of administration remain responsible. The monitoring by the Commission of the national, regional, and local administrative levels paves the way for increased cooperation between the Commission and subnational organizations. In terms of adjudication, the ECJ plays an important role in the interpretation of EU legislation, eventually shaping the level of European integration. The ECJ works in collaboration
Maks, Gary, Liesbet Hooghe, Kermit Blank (1996). ‘European Integration from the 1980s: State Centric v. Multi-level 35
with actors and EU institutions aiming to ‘shif[t] (…) national-based system to one that is more multi-level’. 36
Another example of an initiative that stimulates and helps with the transition from supranational to national and local levels is the ‘European Regional Development Funds’ (ERDF). The funds emerge as European level tools for the organization and realization of policies in member states, including the development of local and regional infrastructure. Although the funds are initiated at the European level, both central governments and subnational institutions are responsible for the efficient implementation. In this case, an MLG approach helps EU member states in gaining a decentralized state structure. 37
3.c. MLG at the European Level
When applying the MLG approach to EU migration policies, migration within the EU enabled common domestic policies to gain momentum on a European level. Foreign policies on migration include several international actors and institutions. The objectives of the Commission to ‘better coordinate its activities with those of inter-national organizations most active in this field’ underlines the importance of International Organizations (IOs) for the EU. During the contemporary refugee crisis 38 for example, the objectives of the International Organization of Migration (IOM) have influenced EU legislation immensely. Both the IOM and other institutional actors continue to provide new resources for the EU, resources that the EU could not achieve with its own industries only. Apart from the IOM, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) contributes to EU policies on human rights as well. From a legal perspective, the EU started to ask the UNHCR for counselling since both institutions hold both the Amsterdam Treaty of 1999 as well as the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 amendments as principles and therefore have common grounds. Since IOs and institutions are located both outside and inside the EU, connecting resources internationally and transnationally can add value to the existing
Maks, Gary, Liesbet Hooghe, Kermit Blank (1996). ‘European Integration from the 1980s: State Centric v. Multi-level 36
Governance’ p. 356-371
Halkier (2010). “Regional Policy in Transition - A Multi-level Governance Perspective on the Case of Denmark” p. 37
329-331
Lavenex (2016). “Multileveling EU external governance: The role of international organizations in the diffusion of 38
competences of individual agents.
The norms and values that IOs support can additionally lead to new roles and ideas to European values and vice versa. These norms and values, if adopted, can contribute to existing policies on migration since the issue of migration is not only a regional problem and requires additional help from other parts of the world. 39
Lavenex (2016). “Multileveling EU external governance: The role of international organizations in the diffusion of 39
Chapter 4: Changing Migration Policies in Practice
The changing migration policies of Denmark and Hungary influenced their responses to the latest refugee crisis in Europe heavily. This thesis aims to show that the policy responses of these two countries changed due to the increasing inflow of refugees to the European region and that they have had an influence on this crisis. Migration policies of Denmark and Hungary transformed into new, active and crisis-specific policy responses. This chapter will begin by explaining policy responses of both Denmark and Hungary for the contemporary European refugee crisis. After, it will examine how the MLG approach is connected to NGOs and the security perspective in Denmark and Hungary. Lastly, it will describe two consequences of Danish and Hungarian migration policies that affect the refugee crisis.
4.a. Policy Responses to the Refugee Crisis: Denmark
In Denmark, the sudden inflow of refugees led to four national policy responses. Between 2015 and 2016 the country implemented significant changes in its migration policies. First of all, in September 2015, the government lowered social assistance of migrants that had not stayed in Denmark for more than seven of the last eight years. Their integration benefits decreased. The second response was introduced in November 2015. The government launched a ‘34-Proposal Asylum Package’ in order to facilitate the return of rejected asylum seekers. One third of the proposal was approved by parliamentary majority. The proposal aimed to increase police controls at borders where many refugees try to cross and enter Denmark. Additionally within this proposal, the housing requirements for refugees and for accommodation companies that tried to find houses for asylum seekers were vaguely described, thereby restricting accommodation companies in their work. The final part of the package was adopted in January 2016. This part put forward stricter measures on the confiscation of belongings, family reunification, and residence permits. The Danish government wanted the refugees to support themselves financially if they had the chance to do so. It became possible for the police to confiscate refugees’ belongings if their value exceeds 1.340 Euros or if the owners do not have an emotional bond with their belongings.
Additionally, the duration of residence permits was shortened and family reunification became available only after three years of residence in Denmark. 40
In January 2016, the third policy response constituted the increase of Danish border controls with Germany in order to decrease the numbers of refugees in the country. Putting higher restrictions on border entrances led to a decrease in the number of refugees. According to Eurostat data of June 2017, the number of asylum 41 applications went down from 20.935 to 6.180 between 2015 and 2016. This decrease 42 reflects that the Danish policies towards discouraging refugees from crossing the borders worked.
Finally, in February 2016, ‘Three-party’ and ‘Two-party’ negotiations took place in order to decide upon the way in which refugees could enter the Danish labour market and upon the integration process of refugees in the Danish society. Three-party negotiations took place between the government, trade unions, and employer’s associations. The aim of these negotiations was to find appropriate jobs for refugees in which they can learn the Danish language and Danish values while being part of the work force. In doing so, the three parties also emphasized the need to increase in employers’ conditions in order for them to accept refugees into their companies. In addition to the Three-party negotiations, the Two-party negotiations led to an increase in the collaboration between the state and municipalities. In these negotiations municipalities were given greater responsibilities in terms of housing, education, and childcare for refugees. 43
4.b. Policy Responses to the Refugee Crisis: Hungary
Due to the growing importance of the refugee crisis, Hungary started to adopt and implement stricter policies to enhance the security standards in the country. Since 2015, four governmental practices concerning refugees can be identified in the course of agenda-setting. Firstly, under the responsibility of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian government carried out anti-migrant campaigns on billboards. The public
Kvist (2016) “Recent Danish Migration and Integration Policies” ESPN Flash Report 40
Kvist (2016) “Recent Danish Migration and Integration Policies” ESPN Flash Report 41
Scholten et.al. (2017) “Policy Innovation in Refugee Integration: A Comparative Analysis of Innovative Policy 42
Strategies towards Refugee ıntegration in Europe” Erasmus University Rotterdam p.1 Kvist (2016) “Recent Danish Migration and Integration Policies” ESPN Flash Report 43
was informed in Hungarian that immigrants are not welcome. Sentences such as ‘if you come to Hungary, you must respect our culture’,‘if you come to Hungary, you must abide by our laws’,‘if you come to Hungary, you cannot take our jobs’ explain the hostile attitude of the government towards refugee immigrants. 44
Secondly, the government created a national consultation about both immigration of refugees and terrorism. These consultations created a direct link between refugees and terrorism, implying that refugees who immigrated to Hungary constituted a threat for the social structure and security of the country. It was believed by the Hungarian government that refugees enter the European region in order to find jobs and benefit from welfare systems. The government officials also believed that the EU could not achieve any permanent solutions regarding the inflow of refugees to the EU. According to one of Orbán's letters to the ‘National Consultation on Immigration and Terrorism', the EU should apply stronger rules and regulations to decrease the flow of refugees to the EU region. 45
A third governmental practice established a barbed-wire border fence at the Hungarian-Croatian border in order to block the entrance of refugees into Hungary. Prior to the building of this fence, the ‘green’ border between Serbia and Hungary was closed off temporarily by building another barbed-wire fence. After building the Hungarian-Croatian border fence, Hungary planned to build another barbed-wire fence at the Hungarian-Romanian border. 46
Lastly, with the setup of above mentioned barbed-wire border fences, the existing Hungarian legal framework on asylum, immigration, and refugees was changed. In 2015 the Asylum Act was amended so that new provisions were made to decrease the number of refugees in Hungary. This amendment, however, contradicted EU and UNHCR rules and regulations. The government also approved a list of ‘safe’ countries of origin and ‘safe’ third countries that restricted the inflow of refugees from just any country. The amendments on the Criminal Court and Criminal Procedure Act played an important role in emphasizing the aims of the Hungarian government since it
Juhasz (2017). “Assessing Hungary’s Stance on Migration and Asylum in Light of the European and Hungarian 44
Migration Strategies” p.39-44
Juhasz (2017). “Assessing Hungary’s Stance on Migration and Asylum in Light of the European and Hungarian 45
Migration Strategies” p.39-44
Juhasz (2017). “Assessing Hungary’s Stance on Migration and Asylum in Light of the European and Hungarian 46
