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Last December, the Hungarian Supreme Court issued its opinion on the concept of "safe third country". This opinion is of relevance as it shall guide the application of this concept by Hungarian judges and thus promote a harmonised practice in asylum cases. The reason for issuing this opinion was precisely the divergence in the criteria applied by Hungarian courts when reviewing administrative decisions.

The reference pertains to the interpretation of Article 15(c) of Directive 2004/83/EC and the clarification of the definition of "internal armed conflict". The Court essentially asks whether the definition of armed conflict under Article 15(c) should be linked to international humanitarian law or whether it should be interpreted autonomously. In the latter case, the Conseil d'Etat also asks what should be the criteria for such an autonomous interpretation.

The Commission issued a joint communication to the EP, Council, European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions proposing a comprehensive approach in response to the Syrian conflict. The Commission calls on Member States to comply with UNHCR’s request that places be made available for the humanitarian admission of 10,000 Syrian refugees from countries in the Middle East and North Africa and the resettlement of an additional 2,000 Syrian nationals.

The new mechanism will enable a six month suspension of visa free travel for citizens of specified third countries. Two objectives of the mechanism are identified. (1) To encourage 'visa reciprocity', by reimposing visa requirements for nationals of countries that still impose them on EU citizens (e.g. the USA, which still imposes visa requirements on citizens from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Poland). (2) To 'halt substantial and sudden increases in irregular migrant numbers or unfounded asylum requests' from third countries ordinarily benefiting from the visa waiver.