Hungary's relaxed visa rules for Russians spark EU backlash

The government of Viktor Orban relaxed visa restrictions in July for labor migrants from Russia and Belarus, allowing them to come to Hungary under simplified rules. Some MEPs are demanding stricter restrictions on Hungary.

At the beginning of July, the government in Budapest expanded the list of non-EU countries whose citizens can come to Hungary with their families as guest workers without undergoing security checks. The new rules, introducing the so-called national card for temporary workers, have been in force since the beginning of the year but primarily concerned Latin American and Asian countries until now.

In July, Russia and Belarus were added to this list. The Hungarian government justified this due to the demand for labor to build new blocks of the nuclear power plant in Paks, implemented by the Russian company Rosatom.

The British newspaper "Financial Times" reported that the head of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, wrote to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, about this matter. According to the head of the largest group in the European Parliament, Budapest's decision poses a severe risk of opening the door for Russian spies in the EU.

Michael Stübgen, the German Minister of the Interior, requested the reinstatement of controls on Hungary's border with other Community countries. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, in turn, asked the Brussels executive to prepare a report on the impact of Hungary's initiative on Schengen's cohesion.

The newspaper adds that some MEPs are demanding strict restrictions on Hungary.

The paper reports that on August 19th, EU interior ministers are meeting to assess what to do next about this issue.

Western allies criticize Orban for his approach to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and close cooperation with Russia. Hungary is highly dependent on the import of Russian energy resources, and in recent weeks, Orban has faced sharp criticism for an uncoordinated visit to Moscow at the beginning of July, shortly after Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council.