Official: 16 EU members against Dublin reform draft

Currently as many as 16 EU members reject the draft changes to the Dublin refugee system, an interior ministry official told parliament's European affairs committee. Matyas Hegyaljai said that the opponents of the Dublin IV package included the Visegrad Four states and Austria, with the Netherlands and Germany recently joining the group. Referring to Austria, Hegyaljai said that the new Austrian government has adopted the position that asylum seekers must be evaluated before entering the community, and entry should be denied to the non-eligible. He argued that the problem of expelling migrants not eligible for refugee status was "obvious". "They just come in and we cannot get rid of them," he insisted. According to the Hungarian government, countries which have started accession talks with the EU should be considered "safe countries".