Top EU court's adviser dismisses Slovakia, Hungary refugee challenge

The top EU court's adviser said on Wednesday that a case brought by Slovakia and Hungary challenging the obligatory relocation of asylum seekers across the bloc should be dismissed.

The two eastern EU states -- backed by neighbour Poland -- had argued that the EU's 2015 scheme to have each member state host a certain number of refugees was unlawful. The programme was designed to help ease pressure on asylum systems in Greece and Italy after mass arrivals across the Mediterranean.

But the court's Advocate General Yves Bot rejected most of the procedural arguments presented by Bratislava and Budapest and said the resettlement scheme was "appropriate for attaining the objective which it pursues".

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)