Hungary next to seek EU asylum rules opt-out

Budapest: Hungary has followed the Netherlands in seeking an opt out from EU rules on asylum, a minister has said, as the country s nationalist leader...

Budapest: Hungary has followed the Netherlands in seeking an opt-out from EU rules on asylum, a minister has said, as the country's nationalist leader Viktor Orban headed to European Parliament on Tuesday.

Last month, the Dutch government requested from Brussels an opt-out from the common asylum policy, though the European Commission replied it expected no "immediate changes".

The European treaties are binding agreements, and any exemptions can only be made with the agreement of all 27 EU member states.

The EU rules, adopted in May and to come into effect in 2026, aim to share hosting responsibilities across the 27-country bloc and to speed up deportations of those deemed ineligible to stay.

Budapest wrote to the EU's home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson on Monday requesting an exemption from the rules, Hungary's minister for European Union affairs, Janos Boka, said on Facebook.