EU calls on Hungary to explain asylum halt

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission called on Hungary on Tuesday to explain immediately why it had stopped taking back asylum seekers from other states in defiance of EU rules. "As the Dublin rules do not foresee the suspension of transfers by the receiving member states, the Commission has asked Hungary for immediate clarification on the nature and extent of the technical failure, and on the measures taken to remedy the situation," a Commission spokeswoman said. She was referring to the fact that other states had told the EU executive that Budapest cited "technical reasons ... for an uncertain period" in explaining why it was not taking back people who first entered the EU in Hungary and who had later traveled to other member states. The Dublin Regulation states that asylum requests be handled where asylum is first claimed. Speaking two days before an EU summit where leaders are due to agree to redistribute asylum seekers from Greece and Italy, a Hungarian government spokesman said earlier on Tuesday that the country had no more capacity to handle more asylum seekers. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; @macdonaldrtr; Editing by Alison Williams)