Hungary is the only Member State in the entire European Union that is completely unwilling to accept any refugee or asylum seekers. News of the Hungarian government’s official policy was made public Monday in Brussels at an EU summit of Member State interior ministers. With the exception of Hungary, the ministers agreed to accept 54,760 refugees and asylum seekers into their respective countries.

The interior ministers agreed to welcome 22,504 refugees from outside the EU (from conflict zones and refugee camps beyond the EU’s border). 32,256 asylum seekers would be transferred out of the two EU countries most affected by the flow of asylum seekers into Europe, Italy and Greece.

Hungary, which is struggling to cope with thousands of asylum seekers crossing into the country from neighboring Serbia, is the only EU Member State to say no to both. ‘Resettlement’ refers to accepting refugees from conflict zones, ‘Relocation’ refers to moving asylum seekers from Greece and Italy to other EU countries.

Referenced in this article:Magyarország egyedül maradt az EU-ban, index.hu; 21 July 2015.