Austria has stepped up security on its borders after Hungary released convicted people smugglers from its prisons in a row that has also raised tensions with Brussels.
Following reports that hundreds of detainees may have been released on Monday provided they left the country immediately, Hungary’s state secretary of the interior ministry, 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 €1.5bn in return for measures to protect the bloc’s external borders.
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.
Rétvári told the Budapest Times 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.
“The commission is in close contact with Hungarian authorities and will also ask for clarification. Migrant smuggling is a key activity for criminal networks … and small groups of smugglers put people’s lives at risk, offering false perspectives and causing serious harm to migrants,” she said.
She added that EU member states were obliged to take “effective” and “proportionate” action to regulate the bloc’s borders.
Over the weekend, Austria’s interior ministry said it would tighten border checks with Hungary, focusing especially on vehicles coming from Hungary, Romania and Serbia.
Austria is a prime destination for smuggled people heading for the heart of the EU via Hungary from the Balkans. 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.
Reuters contributed to this report
