The news was announced by the Hungarian minister of the prime minister’s office at a press briefing in Budapest on Thursday.

Hungary is asking Brussels to allow reintroduction of transit zones, Gergely Gulyas said at a press briefing, the Hungarian state news agency MTI reports. At the two-day EU summit starting today, Hungary would request the EU legislation to be amended to allow the reintroduction of transit zones, the minister said. There is no more effective way of border protection, Mr Gulyas added.

According to the suggestion, refugee status shall be decided upon outside the borders of the EU, as it is hard to expel those already in EU territory. Mr Gulyas said it is justified because migratory pressures have greatly increased.

The European Union summit to be held on 21-22 October will focus on topics such as the European energy crisis, the coronavirus epidemic and the issue of migration.