EU to rule on Austria pushing back asylum seekers

The future of several hundred people who entered Europe during the migrant crisis of 2015-16 could be decided by a key ruling.

At the heart of the case is whether the EU's laws on claiming asylum, known as the Dublin regulation, applied during those exceptional circumstances.

Refugees typically have to seek asylum in the first EU state they reach.

The EU's top court will decide whether Austria and Slovenia were wrong to send asylum seekers back to Croatia. The case could have wider repercussions for the EU.

From August 2015, hundreds - and sometimes thousands - arrived in Austria every day, initially via Hungary and later through Slovenia. Many wanted to travel on to Germany, but around 90,000 applied for asylum in Austria, about 1% of its population.

UCJ, UNILORIN.