ABSTRACT
The role of EU frontier countries has usually been that of a buffer against illegal migrants and asylum seekers travelling West. For example, Hungary has functioned as a buffer between East and West for more than half a century. Already during the Soviet era, the Hungarian western border was the frontier of the Socialist system. After its collapse and the opening of the western border, Hungary constituted a contentious barrier against illegal migrants and asylum seekers to the West. After the enlargement of the EU in 2004, the Hungarian eastern border became the EU frontier and in December 2007 Hungary was brought into the Schengen zone, hence controls of the external borders were raised to EU standards whilst controls on internal borders with other Schengen states were abandoned.
