"Hungary does not have access to the EU funds that Brussels provides to other countries for border protection."Continue reading
Hungary has missed the first deadline to pay the EUR 200 million fine imposed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), prompting Brussels to send a second demand for payment. In addition, Brussels expects the lifting of long-standing restrictions on asylum, points out Euronews.
The new deadline for the payment is September 17.
If Hungary fails to pay the sum by then, the European Commission, will launch a so-called “offsetting procedure” and
deduct EUR 200 million from part of Hungary’s share of the EU budget,
reports Euronews.
In a June ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that Hungary had committed an “unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law” and has ordered the country to pay EUR 200 million for “failing to respect” EU law, including in the area of procedures for granting international protection and returning illegally staying non-EU nationals.
#ECJ: #Hungary is ordered to pay a lump sum of € 200 million and a penalty payment of € 1 million per day of delay for failure to comply with the Court of Justice’s judgment of 17 December 2020 #asylum https://t.co/ATb3CgbPxg
— EU Court of Justice (@EUCourtPress) June 13, 2024
The dispute dates back to December 2020, when the court first ruled that Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, had restricted access to asylum procedures for people seeking international protection, making it “virtually impossible” for them to submit applications. Hungarian authorities were condemned for illegally detaining asylum seekers in conditions similar to detention in so-called “transit zones” and for violating their right to appeal.
Hungary vehemently contested the charges, arguing that migration pressures at EU level justified the discrepancies, but the court rejected this.
After the 2020 ruling, the European Commission took further legal action, which led to the June decision. The judges concluded that Hungary had “disregarded the principle of sincere cooperation” and “deliberately evaded” the bloc’s asylum legislation, with implications for neighboring member states, writes the portal.
The #ECJ’s decision to fine #Hungary with 200M euros plus 1M euros daily(!!!) for defending the borders of the European Union is outrageous and unacceptable. It seems that illegal #migrants are more important to the Brussels bureaucrats than their own European citizens.
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) June 13, 2024
The Commission sent the first payment notice on July 16, giving Hungary 45 calendar days to comply. The deadline expired last Friday and no money has been paid since then. This prompted the Commission to send a second payment notice on Monday, giving Hungary a further 15 days to respond.
The executive is separately looking into the EUR 1 million a day fine imposed on Hungary by the Court of Justice, increasing every day the government continues to ignore the June ruling, Euronews points out.
Budapest has until September 31 to explain what measures, if any, it has put in place to lift asylum restrictions.
Last month, Gergely Gulyás, Minister responsible for the Prime Minister’s Office, doubled down on his government’s refusal to abide by the Court of Justice ruling, threatening to bus migrants to the Belgian capital in retaliation for the fine. “If Brussels wants migrants, they will get them. We will provide them with a one-way ticket to Brussels,” the politician stressed.
Via euronews.com; Featured image via Twitter/Barna Pál Zsigmond