Hungary seeks financial settlement or invoice. - Orban seeks EU financial backing for his anti-immigration strategy
Hungary's conservative leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, aims to charge the European Union for effectively safeguarding against migrant influxes, as stated in a decree he signed and which was published in the Hungarian Gazette. The decree explains that Hungary has allegedly shelled out approximately two billion euros since 2015 to safeguard the EU's outer and Schengen frontiers, and that the EU is responsible for repaying this sum. Consequently, high-ranking officials are advised to assess if this sum can be deducted from the penalty imposed on Hungary by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in June this year, given Hungary's asylum measures. At present, Hungary's method of executing this strategy remains obscure.
In the summer of 2015, during the migrant confrontation, Hungary built barriers lined with barbed wire along its borders with Serbia and Croatia. This move significantly decreased unlawful migrant crossings through the Balkan route.
On June 13, the ECJ issued a decision that Hungary should pay 200 million euros plus a 1 million euro daily penalty for each delayed day, as it had failed to enforce court decisions regarding its asylum system. Hungary was accused of breaching EU treaties by intentionally sidestepping the implementation of a common Union policy. This misconduct was categorized as a severe and unprecedented breach of EU law.
Earlier, the ECJ had passed a ruling on Hungary's migrant strategies in 2020, including practices within the now-shuttered transit shelters on the Serbian border. Subsequent to this, the court invalidated a Hungarian regulation that required asylum seekers to partake in an initial assessment in Hungarian embassies before they could potentially enter Hungary to submit their asylum claim. This practice continues in Hungary.
Hungarian Gazette, Decree 264/2024. (VIII. 29.) , Page 151, Hungarian
The European Court of Justice (The Court of Justice) is the entity that imposed a penalty on Hungary for failing to comply with its asylum system regulations in June this year. Given Hungary's current financial claim against the EU for border protection costs, there are discussions about deducting this sum from the penalty imposed by the European Court of Justice.
