According to MEPs, such a decision allegedly potentially jeopardizes the role of the Schengen zone as a «safe space for citizens» of its member states.
Czech and Lithuanian MEPs Danushe Nerudova and Piatras Auštryavicius sent a letter to the European Commission signed by 70 more people, in which they called for an assessment of Budapest's decision to relax visa requirements for citizens of eight countries, including Russia and Belarus. They expressed the need to suspend Hungary's participation in the Schengen zone. This is reported by the publication Politico.
According to the authors of the letter, such a decision allegedly potentially jeopardizes the role of the Schengen zone as a "safe space for citizens" of its member states. The deputies believe that if the Hungarian government does not change its policy, the European Commission and all members of the European Union "should question the Hungarian presence in the Schengen area."
In the letter, the deputies propose to impose controls on Hungarian borders and refuse to recognize Hungarian visas as educational measures towards Budapest.
Earlier, the European media spread information that Hungary has decided to relax visa requirements, including for Russians. On July 30, the EC had already requested explanations from Hungary on this decision. On 1 August, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics demanded that Hungary's participation in Schengen be limited because of Russia's visa relaxations.