Top EU court hits Hungary over ‘Stop Soros’ migrant law

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top court says Hungary broke EU law by making it a criminal offense to help migrants apply for asylum. The ruling issued Tuesday is a new legal blow to Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s staunchly anti-migrant government. Worried by the arrival of asylum-seekers, Orban accused Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire George Soros and groups linked to him of encouraging migration. Orban’s government introduced legislation in 2018 known as the “Stop Soros” laws that made it an offense to help people apply for asylum. The European Court of Justice ruled Hungary had failed to fulfil its EU obligations by criminalizing those who provide “assistance in respect of the making or lodging of an application for asylum.”