Hungary's parliament is debating the draft laws despite the fact that very few migrants or refugees try to enter Hungary now, due to a double-thickness razor-wire fence on the southern border. The legislation is called a "Stop Soros Act", reflecting the government's antipathy towards billionaire philanthropist George Soros, whom it accuses of encouraging Muslim immigration to Europe.
The Hungarian government has drafted new laws to criminalise those who help irregular migrants seeking asylum. If passed in its current form, the legislation could make printing leaflets with information for asylum-seekers and offering them food or legal advice a criminal offence. The constitution will also be amended to prevent other EU countries from transferring asylum seekers to Hungary. Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban is defying EU policy on migration.
Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia oppose an EU scheme for relocating 160,000 refugees from Syria and Eritrea to EU partners of Italy and Greece, where migrant camps are overcrowded.
