EU Fines Hungary €200 Million Over Breach Of Asylum Laws

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Hungary must pay a lump sum fine of €200 million for its violations of the bloc’s asylum laws and its illegal deportation of migrants.

Hungary will incur a daily fine of €1 million for any delay, with the fines being automatically deducted from its share of the EU budget, which remains partially frozen due to similar legal issues.

According to a press release by the ECJ, the failure to fulfill obligations is deemed an unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law.

The dispute arises from December 2020, when the court first ruled that Hungary, led by Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, had restricted access to asylum procedures for those seeking international refuge in the nation.

Hungarian authorities faced allegations of illegally detaining applicants in transit zones, breaching their right to stay within the national territory while appealing rejected applications, and forcibly expelling them.

Ignoring the December 2020 ruling, Hungary faced new legal action from the European Commission, leading to Thursday’s judgment.

According to Euro News, the judges’ conclusion states that Hungary has neglected the “principle of sincere cooperation” and is intentionally avoiding the implementation of the bloc’s asylum legislation.

“That conduct constitutes a serious threat to the unity of EU law, which has an extraordinarily serious impact both on private interests, particularly the interests of asylum seekers, and on the public interest,” the judges said.