Hungary dismisses EU 'hysteria' over visa rules for Russians

(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, SEP 4 - Hungary on Wednesday dismissed as "political hysteria" fears that its new work and residency permit scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals heightened the risk of spying in the European Union. The European Commission and the European Parliament's biggest group raised concerns after Hungary extended a "national card" system to citizens of the two countries amid the war in Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is the only EU leader to have maintained close ties with the Kremlin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour Ukraine in 2022. "There is no legal and security issue whatsoever when it comes to the national card," Hungary's minister for European Union affairs, Janos Boka, told a press conference in Brussels. (ANSA-AFP).