EU’s top court says eastern states broke law by refusing to host refugees

The European Union’s top court has ruled that Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic had broken the law by refusing to host refugees to help ease the burden on Greece and Italy after a surge in migrant arrivals from 2015.

“By refusing to comply with the temporary mechanism for the relocation of applicants for international protection, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have failed to fulfill their obligations under EU law,” the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the EU said on Thursday.

The decision underscores Europe’s divisions over migration. However, the three ex-communist nations face no immediate penalty as the relocation of tens of thousands of people agreed by the EU was only envisaged until 2017, Reuters said.

The eurosceptic governments on the EU’s eastern flank had cited national security reasons in refusing to take in any of the mostly Muslim refugees and migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.