Hungarian Government Extends State of Emergency Yet Again

The "crisis situation caused by mass immigration" in Hungary, which was due to expire on September 7, has now been extended again by the government and will remain in place until at least March next year.

The government has extended the "Government Decree 41/2016 (III. 9.) on the imposition of a crisis situation caused by mass immigration throughout Hungary and on the rules related to the imposition, existence and termination of the crisis situation," the latest issue of the Hungarian Gazette revealed.

According to the new amendment, the crisis situation may end on March 7, 2024 at the earliest.

Without the extension, the regulation would have been in force until September 7. The first decree on "national mass immigration crisis" was introduced in 2016 and has been extended continuously since then.

This means that by next March, Hungary will have been in a crisis situation for seven years and there is a chance that the regulation will still be extended.

Mass immigration has been plaguing Europe continuously since 2015, with the most active route continuing to be the Balkan route, which includes the Hungarian border, the Government Information Center said, explaining the reasons for the introduction of the crisis situation.