Two years ago, the EU court slapped Budapest with a €200m fine for failing to implement an asylum law, in a case that stems back to 2020 when Hungary was already faulted by the court for forcing people back to Serbia.
Nikolaj Nielsen
Two years ago, the EU court slapped Budapest with a €200m fine for failing to implement an asylum law, in a case that stems back to 2020 when Hungary was already faulted by the court for forcing people back to Serbia.
The bill came with a daily €1m fine, which Hungary’s ousted prime minister Viktor Orbán refused to pay.
Now totalling some €600m, the sum has landed on Hungary’s incoming prime minister Peter Magyar’s lap and at time when the country’s economy is a struggling.
It is but one of many bristling problems Magyar will have to face, as he attempts to dismantle over decade of toxic Orbánism while clawing back some €17bn in lost EU funds.
“Without these funds, it will not be possible to kickstart the Hungarian economy,” said Magyar, who takes over as PM next month.
Earlier this week after a technical meeting with an envoy of EU officials, he had also suggested a suspension of the daily fine.
When pressed to comment, the European Commission said the fine would be lifted once Hungary implements the required rules.
“It is up to the Hungarian government to abide by this ruling and once that is done, the issue is solved,” said commission spokesperson Paula Pinho.
It is not immediately clear if Magyar intends to abide by the ruling.
He also opposes the incoming EU asylum and migration rules, echoing Polish prime minister Donald Tusk’s refusal to accept asylum seekers who arrive in other member states.
This comes despite that the number of people to be relocated is a fraction of what the European Commission had initially intended.
