A decree has come into force in Hungary, according to which only refugees from the regions of Ukraine directly affected by the fighting now have the right to state aid, Le Parisien writes. Ukrainians who lived in more than one of these regions immediately lose their right to Hungarian state aid, including monthly payments and free housing.

After two and a half years of conflict and tens of thousands of newcomers, Budapest needed a “reasonable and proportionate” change in the law, explained Norbert Pal, the government commissioner for Ukrainian refugees.

During the conflict, Hungary received 46,000 Ukrainians — as Le Parisien notes, this is much less than its European neighbors. According to the newspaper, the new amendment will affect from 2,000 to 3,000 refugees. In some areas of the country, on the day of the adoption of the law, mass evictions of Ukrainians were observed, which took place under police supervision.

At the same time, Hungary has softened the conditions under which Russians and Belarusians can come to the country to work. Now Budapest provides them with a two-year residence permit with the possibility of extension for another three years, which may subsequently open the way for Russians and Belarusians to permanent residence in the EU, the French newspaper explains.

EU countries were quick to express their “deep concern” about such decisions and called on the European Commission to “respond.” European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson asked Hungary to clarify these decrees, both from the point of view of internal security “due to the risk of espionage” and from the point of view of “circumventing the restrictions imposed by the EU on Russia.”

@ino_tv