Brussels – The European Union’s highest court has mandated Hungary to pay a substantial fine of 200 million euros, equivalent to $216 million in US dollars. This penalty comes as a consequence of Hungary’s persistent violations of the bloc’s asylum regulations. The ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) includes an additional daily fine of 1 million euros for each day Hungary fails to comply with the initial 2020 court order to rectify its asylum policies.
The ECJ, based in Luxembourg, stated in a press release that Hungary had demonstrably failed to implement the 2020 ruling. The court emphasized the severity of Hungary’s actions, stating, “That failure, which consists in deliberately avoiding the application of a common EU policy as a whole, constitutes an unprecedented and extremely serious infringement of EU law.” This firm stance underscores the EU’s commitment to upholding its shared policies across member states.
In response to the ruling, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed strong disapproval, labeling the decision as “outrageous and unacceptable.”
“It seems that illegal migrants are more important to the Brussels bureaucrats than their own European citizens,” Orbán posted on social media platform X, reflecting his government’s continued defiance of EU asylum policies.
Hungary’s government, known for its staunch anti-immigration stance, has implemented stringent measures regarding entry into the country, particularly since the influx of over a million individuals into Europe in 2015, many fleeing conflict zones like Syria.
The current legal action is rooted in changes Hungary made to its asylum system following the 2015 migration crisis, during which approximately 400,000 individuals transited through Hungary en route to Western Europe. In response to this influx, Hungary erected fences fortified with razor wire along its southern borders with Serbia and Croatia. Additionally, it established transit zones on its Serbian border to accommodate asylum seekers, though these zones have since been closed.
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The measures implemented by Hungary were central to Prime Minister Orban’s increasingly restrictive anti-immigration agenda, effectively minimizing the country’s asylum system and access to international protection.
The ECJ’s initial ruling in 2020 concluded that Hungary’s policies had severely restricted access to international protection, unlawfully detained asylum seekers, and disregarded their right to remain in Hungary while their asylum applications were undergoing due process. The court reiterated these findings on Thursday, emphasizing the continued non-compliance.
While Hungary closed the controversial transit zones in 2020 following the initial ECJ ruling, the European Commission, tasked with monitoring EU member states’ adherence to shared laws, determined that Hungary’s compliance remained insufficient. Consequently, the Commission requested the European Court of Justice to impose financial penalties on Hungary, leading to Thursday’s substantial fine.
Further exacerbating the situation, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Hungarian government enacted legislation requiring individuals seeking international protection to first travel to Belgrade or Kyiv to obtain a travel permit from Hungarian embassies before even being allowed to enter Hungary and file their asylum applications.
The European Commission challenged this law at the European Court of Justice, asserting that Hungary was failing to meet its obligations under EU rules. These rules mandate that all member states maintain common procedures for granting asylum to those fleeing persecution or danger in their home countries. International law and EU regulations recognize the fundamental right of individuals to seek asylum and international protection if they face threats to their safety or persecution based on factors such as race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or other forms of discrimination.
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This significant fine of 200 Million Euros To Dollars highlights the ongoing tensions between Hungary and the European Union regarding immigration and asylum policies, and the EU’s firm stance on enforcing its legal framework across all member states.
