In August 2024, the Hungarian government threatened to transport migrants to Brussels by bus, in response to a dispute with the EU over compliance with asylum rules. State Secretary Bence Rétvàri repeated the threat last week, posing in front of a number of buses with signs indicating “Röszke-Brüsszel”, the route that would take migrants from Hungary’s southern border to the EU’s headquarters. 

In response to this, Nicole de Moor underlined that these statements constitute a serious violation of the basic principles of European cooperation and mutual trust between EU Member States. She expects the threat will remain “counterproductive grandstanding” and continued: "Should Hungary proceed with the implementation of its plans, however, migrants would illegally cross the territory of other Member States to arrive illegally in Belgium. This would be a flagrant violation of European and international agreements. Belgium will, therefore, not grant access to migratory flows instrumentalised in this way.”

The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration asked Belgium's ambassador to the EU to question his Hungarian counterpart on the matter. She also asked the European Commission to respond strongly and decisively. 

For further details, please read the press release from the Secretary of State (in Dutch).