The EU launched legal action yesterday (13 June) against Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic for refusing to take in their share of refugees under a controversial solidarity plan.

The move shows the frustration in Brussels over the slow response to the scheme, which aimed to relocate 160,000 migrants from frontline migrant crisis states Italy and Greece but which has so far seen only 20,000 moved.

“I regret to say that despite our repeated calls, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland have not yet taken the necessary action,” EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told a news conference.

Solidarity cannot be one-way street.It is fundamental pillar of EU. Today we take action as guardian of the Treaties https://t.co/wwqE3xvB72 pic.twitter.com/1oEEkp4Nw8 — DimitrisAvramopoulos (@Avramopoulos) June 13, 2017

“For this reason the (European) Commission has decided to launch infringement procedures against these three member states,” he said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Brussels last month set a June deadline for Warsaw and Budapest to start accepting migrants under the plan to ease the burden on Italy and Greece, or risk sanctions. Prague also came under pressure after effectively dropping out.

Commission sets June deadline for Poland, Hungary to take migrant share The European Union yesterday (16 May) set a June deadline for Poland and Hungary to start admitting their share of migrants from overstretched Italy and Greece or risk sanctions.

“Illegal decision”

The three eastern European states all reacted defiantly to the decision after having led resistance to the plan since its outset in 2015 at the height of the migration crisis, when more than one million refugees landed on Europe’s shores.

Hungary says this is not a refugee crisis, but mass exodus The measures to address the migration crisis introduced by individual member states or groups of states have been more effective than the Commission’s action, a Hungarian high official said yesterday (13 June).

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said his government had been active on the crisis but tweeted: “Quotas are not working.”

Poland’s Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski hit out at the “illegal decision”, insisting that most of those being relocated were migrants who should be sent home and not refugees needing international protection.

FM #Waszczykowski after the meeting w/ FM #Szijjártó: We do not agree to be blackmailed into accepting migrants https://t.co/xh7wXKrp8V pic.twitter.com/qnfkxIAMvu — Poland MFA?? (@PolandMFA) June 12, 2017

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said his government would “not give in to blackmail”.

Polish, Hungarian 'horse thief' alliance alarms Brussels Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s fiery nationalist prime minister, is known for the contempt he showers on most European leaders. But when he appeared alongside Poland’s Jaroslaw Kaczynski last week, he paid his fellow Eastern European right-wing ruling party leader the ultimate complement: together they would make perfect partners in crime.

Brussels is already at odds with Budapest over rights issues, including a crackdown on foreign-backed civil society groups approved by the Hungarian parliament yesterday.

Hungary has yet again gone against common sense, democratic norms, and follows in Russia's footsteps on #NGO law https://t.co/S9yFcU8oT8 — Péter Niedermüller (@NiedermullerMEP) June 13, 2017

Avramopoulos, who is Greece’s European commissioner, insisted those selected for the relocation scheme had all been carefully screened and identified as needing international protection.

He also criticised the three countries for expecting the benefits of EU membership while not taking on responsibilities.

“Europe is not only about requesting funds or ensuring security,” Avramopoulos said. “Europe is also about sharing difficult moments and challenges and common dramas.”

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi expressed “disappointment” that the lion’s share of protecting refugees on such a wealthy continent should fall on so few countries, such as Italy, Greece, Germany and Sweden.

Amnesty International hailed the EU decision, with the rights group’s European head Iverna McGowan saying it “makes it clear that countries will not be allowed to get away with dragging their feet to avoid accepting refugees.”

Stiff penalties

Under “infringement” proceedings the European Commission, the 28-nation EU’s executive arm, sends a letter to national governments demanding legal explanations over certain issues, before possibly referring them to the European Court of Justice.

EU states can eventually face stiff financial penalties if they fail to comply.

Avramopoulos said Hungary and Poland were targeted because they had failed to admit one single person under the plan to redistribute among other member states 160,000 mainly Syrian, Eritrean and Iraq asylum seekers from Greece and Italy by September.

He said the Czech Republic was targeted for having relocated nobody in the past year and failed to issue any new pledges to admit asylum seekers.

Czech deputy PM: A 'different' migration is needed We have to change NATO from a defence pact to tan offensive pact, Andrej Babiš, the Czech minister of finance, who also serves as deputy premier, told Euractiv Poland.

Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania opposed the scheme two years ago but were overruled by a majority vote that is legally binding. Poland reluctantly agreed to the plan but took an even harder line when a new right-wing government assumed power weeks later.

Visegrád Four slam 'blackmail' by Brussels on migrants Leaders from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland (the Visegrád Four) rejected yesterday (28 March) what they called Brussels’ use of “blackmail and diktat” over planned resettlements of migrants across the EU.

Hungary and Slovakia have since taken their case to the EU’s top court.

In the latest EU figures, just over 20,000 people have been relocated under the plan, which was in response to Europe’s biggest ever refugee crisis.

Refugee relocations very far from target, Commission admits Member states have relocated only a small fraction of the 160,000 asylum-seekers they committed to absorbing from Greece and Italy, the Commission admitted today (2 February).

European sources have blamed the delays on a series of factors: governments trying to screen jihadists in the wake of terror attacks, a lack of housing and education for asylum seekers, and logistical problems.

What we would need to know from @Avramopoulos: How many of those 20 000 relocated asylum seekers have stayed in the designated countries? — Jakub Janda (@_JakubJanda) June 13, 2017

They said some countries were setting unacceptable conditions by refusing Muslims, black people or large families, with Eastern European states the worst for discriminating on religious and racial grounds.

Slovak PM: ‘It’s impossible to integrate Muslims’ Challenging the EU’s political correctness, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he will not allow a large Muslim community in his country. Fico’s anti-immigration rhetoric has boosted his Direction-Social Democracy party (SMER-SD) ahead of the 5 March elections.