Assessing Hungary’s Stance on Migration and Asylum in Light of the European and Hungarian Migration Strategies

Abstract The European Union and its member states are facing one of their biggest challenges in recent years due to the surge in migration. This crisis saw more than a million migrants and refugees cross into Europe in 2015. Solutions and policies have been advanced at both the European and national levels, keeping in mind that migration policy is an area of shared competence under Article 4 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). On 13 May 2015, the EU adopted the European Agenda on Migration, which set out immediate and medium-term actions designed to tackle the crisis more effectively. Earlier, in October 2013, the Hungarian government adopted its own migration strategy. The first part of this study provides some insight into the aims and measures contained in the European and Hungarian migration strategies. In the second part, I focus on the steps taken by the Hungarian government regarding asylum policy and crisis management. I conclude that the actions and communications of the Hungarian government are contrary to both these strategic documents.