Belgium slams Hungarian plan to bus asylum seekers to Brussels

Belgian Foreign Minister and incoming EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib has slammed Hungary’s plan to send buses of asylum seekers to Brussels.

The announcement was made by Budapest several weeks ago but only caught the attention of the minister on Monday. Lahbib called it a “provocation that contradicts European obligations.”

“Migration policy is a common challenge that must be tackled in an orderly fashion and with solidarity by all Member States,” Lahbib wrote on X. 

Belgium has nominated Lahbib as its pick for Ursula von der Leyen’s new European Commission. She is known for her tough stance on Budapest: During Belgium’s EU presidency, for example, Lahbib urged EU governments to consider moving forward with a procedure to strip Hungary — which took over the presidency in July — of its voting rights.

The Hungarian government announced in late August that if the European Court of Justice ruling forced Budapest to adopt a “no-detention” refugee policy, it was prepared to give any migrant trying to enter Hungary a one-way ticket to Brussels. 

Last Friday Deputy Interior Minister Bence Rétvári reiterated the idea, and to clarify Budapest’s message held a press conference in front of buses with Brussels as their destination.

Nicole de Moor, Belgium’s state secretary for asylum and migration, also denounced the idea, saying it “shows a lack of respect for European institutions and common policies.”

The policy is reminiscent of an approach taken by several southern states in the U.S., whereby thousands of recent arrivals have been put on buses or planes to other states.