Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said yesterday that the judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which fined Hungary for non-compliance with the European Union’s (EU)common asylum policy and ECJ judgment, is “shameful and unacceptable” and accused Brussels of “financial blackmail”.
“The decision of the ECJ to fine Hungary with 200 million euros and a half million euros per day for defending the borders of the EU is shameful and unacceptable. It seems that illegal migrants are more important to Brussels bureaucrats than European citizens,” Orban wrote on the X network, the former Twitter.
Yesterday, the European Court of Justice fined Hungary 200 million euros and an additional million euros for each day of delay because it did not implement the court’s verdict.
Orban wrote on Facebook that Hungary will not “allow it to be financially blackmailed by Brussels bureaucrats”. “We will protect our borders and we will protect the Hungarian people,” Orban wrote.
In December 2020, the ECJ ruled that Hungary does not comply with European policies related to the right to recognition of international protection and procedures for the return of illegal migrants.
The court then assessed that it was impossible for migrants entering Hungary from Serbia to apply for international protection due to Budapest’s regulations, that their detention in transit zones was illegal and that European procedures for returning rejected asylum seekers were not followed.
In yesterday‘s verdict, the EU Court assessed that Hungary did not take the necessary measures to implement the 2020 verdict, and that it did so intentionally, thereby violating the principle of cooperation, seriously undermining the principle of solidarity and the fair division of obligations between EU members.
The ECJ explained the amount of the penalty with the assessment that “this failure to fulfill its obligations represents an unprecedented and particularly serious violation of Union law”.
Due to its policy towards asylum seekers, Hungary has been criticized by the European Commission on several occasions, and large parts of the Hungarian asylum system have been declared illegal by the ECJ.
