In late October, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to sue the European Commission over the migrant quota system, which had not been unanimously welcomed by EU members and faced criticism from several EU state, primarily from the eastern part of the bloc.
On October 2, Hungary held a referendum on the EU migrant resettlement quota but it failed due to the turnout of 45 percent with the required minimum of 50 percent. Nevertheless, the majority of voters — some 95 percent — rejected the quota scheme.
Europe has been trying to cope with a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing crisis-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including from Syria, to escape violence and poverty. The European Union adopted a quota system last September that envisages the relocation of 160,000 asylum seekers across the bloc within two years.
The quota system has not been unanimously welcomed by EU members and faced criticism from several EU states primarily from the eastern part of the bloc, such as Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, who have opposed its mandatory nature.
