Austria announced on Monday the summoning of the Hungarian ambassador to Vienna after Budapest issued a decree providing for the release of hundreds of migrant smugglers with a view to their deportation.
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We expect explanations from Hungary (...) and have therefore summoned this afternoon the ambassador for an urgent meeting," the foreign ministry said in a statement sent to AFP. "As a neighbouring country, Hungary's decision has direct repercussions on our security," he added, saying he was "very concerned".
'Smugglers are criminals'
Alerted by a recent Hungarian television report on the alleged release of smugglers, Austria has strengthened border controls this weekend. "The smugglers are criminals belonging to organized crime, their actions put human lives in danger," responded the Ministry of the Interior.
The government of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban decided at the end of April to release 700 detainees, most of them from surrounding countries. They will have to "leave Hungarian territory within 72 hours," according to the text of the decree. According to the authorities, prisons are facing an increase in the number of prisoners convicted of human trafficking - they currently account for 13% of the total, or some 2,600 people from 73 countries.
The decree published on 27 April therefore aims to limit "the cost to Hungarian taxpayers". Asked by AFP about the timetable for the implementation of this measure, the government had not responded immediately. Under Viktor Orban, Hungary has taken a hard line on illegal immigration. It has built fences at its borders and restricted the submission of asylum applications to embassies abroad, while toughening penalties for smugglers.
