European Union to Fine Hungary €1 Million Per Day for Violating EU Migrant Laws

The European Court of Justice has fined Hungary €200 million for breaching EU asylum laws and ignoring a previous court ruling. The European Court also ruled that Budapest must pay £169 million for an "unprecedented and extremely serious breach".

In turn, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban considers the court's verdict "outrageous and unacceptable." He accuses the "Brussels bureaucrats" of prioritising illegal migrants over European citizens.

Back in December 2020, the Luxembourg court ruled for the first time that Hungary had failed to comply with EU rules on the treatment of migrants, as Budapest illegally detained asylum seekers and deported them before they had time to appeal against the rejection of their applications.

In 2020, at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Hungary passed a law requiring irregular migrants to travel to Belgrade or Kyiv to apply for permission to enter Hungary. This could be done only once.

Then the European Court ordered Hungary to rectify the situation.

Hungary ignored the court's ruling, and the EU court called it a "deliberate evasion of the application of the EU's common policy" and added that Budapest's inaction "constitutes an unprecedented and extremely serious breach of EU law."

So now, if Hungary refuses to pay the fine, the amount will be deducted from Hungary's share of the EU budget.