Baltic and Nordic countries raise concerns over Hungary's easing of visa scheme

Hungary’s National Card immigration scheme has now been relaxed to include nationals from Russia and Belarus.

Transcript

00:00Lithuania and Latvia are the latest EU countries to express concern over Hungary's easing of

00:07entry rules to nationals from Russia and Belarus.

00:12Hungary's National Card immigration scheme, which has now been relaxed to include Russia

00:17and Belarus, allows guest workers to stay in the country for at least two years and

00:22can pave the way to permanent residency.

00:26Foreign and interior ministers of the Baltic and Nordic states have written to the EU Commission,

00:32expressing concern over these changes, which they say could jeopardise the security of

00:37the passport-free Schengen area.

00:40There was never Schengen free for Russian diplomats. It was hostile intention and there

00:44was never Schengen free for possible security breaches by certain countries. So this is

00:52why we take it very seriously as a security risk.

00:55The Hungarian government has dismissed these concerns, saying national cards would be issued

01:01in accordance with the relevant EU framework.