By Olha Hembik | 2024-10-02

WARSAW -- Budapest has made it easier for economic migrants from Russia and Belarus to enter and stay in the country, allowing them to participate in Hungary's National Card program -- a residence permit that includes the right to work.

Critics of the plan see a migrant scheme aimed at enabling "spies and saboteurs" to enter the European Union (EU).

Viktor Orban's government cites the need for workers to build new units of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, an endeavor of the Russian company Rosatom.

Since the beginning of the year, the list of countries enjoying simplified requirements for entry to Hungary has included Ukraine and Serbia, as well as countries in Latin America and Asia.

Budapest July 9 expanded the list of countries whose citizens may travel with their families to Hungary without security checks or tests of cultural knowledge.

Now, in addition to citizens of Russia and Belarus, the list includes citizens of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro.

Undermining EU security

A National Card is issued for two years and may be renewed. A card holder may apply for a permit for residence in Hungary after three years.

Russians and Belarusians with a Hungarian visa may freely enter other EU countries.

That loophole makes EU border security completely dependent on Budapest's whims.

The European Commission has already stated that Hungary's decision threatens the security of the entire border-free Schengen Area, especially since Hungary holds the EU presidency until the end of the year.

In contrast, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, EU countries including Poland, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Finland barred Russian citizens from entering and stopped giving them even tourist visas.

The number of EU visas issued to Russians has decreased by almost 90% since the start of the war, European Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in September.

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson has expressed concerns over Hungary's new visa rules.

Russia is a security threat to the EU, Johansson wrote to Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pintér in a letter published August 1.

"Giving potential Russian spies and saboteurs easy EU access would undermine the security of us all," she posted on X.

Hungary's anti-Polish policy

Poles fear the Kremlin will take advantage to deploy its agents in Europe.

"Hungary's opening of its borders has caused alarm especially in Poland, which has problems with Belarus and [suffers] constant border attacks by refugees ... instigated by the Kremlin," said Jerzy Rejt, an activist and former chairman of the Associations of Ukrainians in Poland.

"The Polish government is working to identify people who have come to Poland with orders from Moscow to destabilize the state," he told Kontur.

"Recently, criminals who tried to infiltrate government agencies online were identified in Poland. More than 10 people were arrested during the summer on suspicion of setting stores on fire."

Orban's initiative could have potentially significant consequences for Hungary's future -- and the makeup of the EU, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned August 9.

"Exclusion from Schengen would be the start of Hungary's exit from the European Union too," he said.

His comments follow a letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from 67 members of the European Parliament urging stricter measures against Hungary -- including expelling Hungary from the border-free zone if it does not amend its visa policies.

"These 'workers' with Hungarian visas will have the ability to move freely throughout the entire Schengen Area. ... there is a risk that these non-European nationals could strengthen the Russian espionage network within the EU," the letter said.

Tensions between Warsaw and Budapest were clear at the end of July, when Orban and Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Teofil Bartoszewski traded barbs.

Orban criticized Europe and "the pro-democracy foreign policy of the United States" and accused Poles of "pursuing the most hypocritical and puritanical policy in all of Europe."

In response, Bartoszewski suggested Orban "create an alliance with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and some authoritarian states."

"If you don’t want to be a member of a club, you can always leave. Undoubtedly, this is now an anti-European, anti-Ukrainian and anti-Polish policy," Bartoszewski said.

Having to deal with Hungary

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU authorities have expelled more than 500 Russian citizens, accusing them of espionage.

"Increased espionage in the [EU] will raise the question of what to do with Hungary itself and its borders," Stanislav Zhelikhovsky, a scholar of international relations, told Kontur.

The EU has punitive options, he noted.

"For example, countries bordering [Hungary] may restore border checkpoints ... We will most likely see the results by the end of the year," Zhelikhovsky said.

When Hungarians themselves lose the right to move freely within the EU, their government will be forced to reconsider its decision, he said.

"Poles and Hungarians have a long shared history ... but now relations between our countries are at their worst because [Budapest] has accommodated Putin," said Robert Czyżewski, director of the Polish Institute in Kyiv.

"It is impossible to build a pro-Russian culture in Poland," he told Kontur. "Now, they [Moscow] want to use Orban to soften the EU's position on Russia."