EU takes Czechs, Hungary, Poland to court over refugees

BRUSSELS – The European Union is taking the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to court for failing to accommodate their fair share of refugees under a plan agreed to by the 28-country bloc.

EU nations agreed in Sept. 2015 to relocate 160,000 refugees from Italy and Greece as the countries buckled under the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants that year.

But the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland have taken in almost none in two years. The EU's executive Commission sought reasons why but was given no satisfactory explanations.

The Commission said Thursday that the three "remain in breach of their legal obligations" and "have given no indication that they will contribute to the implementation of the relocation decision."

Their cases are being referred to the European Court of Justice.