STRASBOURG: The EU launched legal action on Tuesday against Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic for refusing to take in their share of refugees under a controversial solidarity plan.

The move shows the frustration in Brussels over the scheme, which aimed to relocate 160,000 migrants from frontline migrant crisis states Italy and Greece but which has so far seen only 20,000 moved.

“I regret to say that despite our repeated calls, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland have not yet taken the necessary action,” EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told a news conference.

“For this reason the (European) Commission has decided to launch infringement procedures against these three member states,” he said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The three eastern European states have led resistance to the plan since its outset in 2015 at the height of the migration crisis, when more than one million refugees landed on Europe’s shores.

But Avramopoulos, who is Greece’s European commissioner, criticised the countries for expecting the benefits of EU membership while not taking on responsibilities.

“Europe is not only about requesting funds or ensuring security,” Avramopoulos said. “Europe is also about sharing difficult moments and challenges and common dramas.”

Brussels last month set a June deadline for Warsaw and Budapest to start accepting migrants under the plan to ease the burden on Italy and Greece, or risk sanctions.

Prague also came under pressure after effectively dropping out.

Under “infringement” proceedings the European Commission, the 28-nation EU’s executive arm, sends a letter to national governments demanding legal explanations over certain issues, before possibly referring them to the European Court of Justice.

EU states can eventually face stiff financial penalties if they fail to comply.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2017