East Europeans lose at EU court

The EU yesterday won a high-level legal battle against eastern European countries that have refused to admit thousands of asylum seekers based on mandatory quotas for the bloc's member states.

The European Court of Justice, the 28-nation bloc's top court, threw out the challenge from Hungary and Slovakia against a scheme Brussels launched two years ago to ease the burden on Greece and Italy.

The European Union has been grappling with the worst migrant crisis since World War II, with more than one million people fleeing war, persecution and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

"The court dismisses the actions brought by Slovakia and Hungary against the provisional mechanism for the mandatory relocation of asylum seekers," the Luxembourg-based court said.

"That mechanism actually contributes to enabling Greece and Italy to deal with the impact of the 2015 migration crisis and is proportionate."

The continuing crisis peaked in 2015. More than 1.6 million people have landed on Greek and Italian shores.

The verdict was welcomed by the European Commission.However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto slammed the verdict as "irresponsible," saying it "threatens the security of all of Europe".

The top court's press office told AFP there is "no onward appeal for Hungary and Slovakia" when asked about Szijjarto's vow that Budapest will use "all legal means" to fight the scheme.

In Bratislava, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said his government "fully respects the court's decision" as it wants to remain at the "EU's core" but nevertheless called quotas "politically wrong."