The Hungarian foreign minister has accused European governments of targeting Budapest with a ‘campaign of lies’ over the entry scheme.
ADVERTISEMENTA deadline for Hungary to explain its easing of entry requirements for Russian and Belarusian nationals is set to expire on Monday, as frustration with Viktor Orbán's rogue foreign policy mounts in EU capitals.
In a letter addressed to her Hungarian counterpart earlier this month, the EU's home affairs chief Ylva Johansson asked the government in Budapest to explain recent changes made to the National Card immigration scheme, making it easier for Russians and Belarusians to enter the country to work.
The scheme grants a stay of two years renewable by an additional three to "guest workers", but could pave the way towards permanent residency. Hungary has extended the scheme, originally available to Serbian and Ukrainian nationals, to EU candidate countries Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Moldova, as well as Belarus and Russia.
Brussels says these changes could allow "potential Russian spies and saboteurs easy EU access," jeopardising the security of the passport-free Schengen Area.
"If their easy access scheme is a risk, we will act," Johansson warned in her letter.
A Commission source confirmed to Euronews on Monday that the executive stands ready to assess the "compliance of this scheme and its potential impact on obligations for Hungary under EU law" once it receives a response from the Hungarian government.
Eight Nordic and Baltic countries - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden - have weighed in on the issue with a letter dated August 15 to Johansson, in which they express deep concern over the scheme.
"We are worried that this decision may constitute a serious security risk to all member states," the countries' foreign, home affairs and justice ministers say. "Hungary's reply, your analysis and the next steps will be of utmost importance in ensuring our national security."
All eight countries are within Europe's Schengen border-free travel zone.
'Plain lies'
Hungary's foreign minister Péter Szijjártó snapped back over the weekend accusing his Baltic and Nordic counterparts of peddling lies.
"The inclusion of Russian and Belarusian citizens in the National Card program does not pose any security risk from the point of view of the Schengen area, since these persons must still undergo a comprehensive check to enter and stay in Hungary," Szijjártó said on Facebook.
"All claims to the contrary by Northern European and Baltic colleagues, who are blinded by their adherence to the pro-war camp, are plain lies," the foreign minister added.
The EU suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia in response to its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, making it more expensive and burdensome for Russian and Belarusian citizens to gain access to the bloc.
It has also closed its airspace to Russian-operated flights and severely restricted land travel across the bloc's border with Russia.
The EU executive fears such measures and their impact will now be undermined, with Hungary providing a back door for Russians and Belarusians to enter the Schengen area, which removes border checks between 29 European countries to facilitate the seamless transit of people.
ADVERTISEMENTWhile each EU country is free to design its own visa policy, the Commission could step in if it found that a country's decisions violate the common minimum rules imposed by Brussels.
Any schemes to attract foreign workers "need to be carefully balanced not to put at risk the integrity of our common area without internal border controls and to duly consider potential security implications," Johansson wrote.
Brussels-Budapest relations at historic low
The latest fallout ratchets up tensions between Brussels and Budapest.
The long-strained relationship reached a historic low in July when prime minister Orbán met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as part of a self-proclaimed peace mission, slammed by EU leaders as provocation.
ADVERTISEMENTOrbán's Moscow trip coincided with the start of Hungary's six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, prompting fierce backlash against what was seen as an attempt to hijack the EU's foreign policy.
Several EU ministers have voiced exasperation with Orbán, who has consistently derailed critical EU decisions on support to Ukraine, and who continues to block the release of aid worth €6.6 billion under the European Peace Facility (EPD), preventing member states from being partially reimbursed for the supplies they send to Kyiv.