European Affairs Minister János Bóka insists he won’t pay a €200m fine imposed by EU courts for restricting asylum rights, though Brussels has triggered a special procedure to deduct the sum from EU funds.
Hungary is willing to enforce a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that declared longstanding restrictions on asylum rights unlawful, European Affairs Minister János Bóka said on Tuesday (24 September).
But Bóka insisted he will not pay the hefty fine imposed by judges, which grows by the day.
In June, the EU’s highest court found that Hungary had committed an “unprecedented and exceptionally serious” legal breach by making it virtually impossible for asylum seekers to submit claims for international protection.
Judges imposed a €200 million fine, plus €1m for each day the wrongdoing continued.
The European Commission’s numerous demands for Budapest to react have been met with continued silence. Last week, the Commission triggered an “offsetting procedure” to deduct €200m from the country’s share of EU funds, which are already partly frozen due to concerns of democratic backsliding in the country.
“As far as the financial penalty is concerned, I can confirm that the Hungarian government will not pay this penalty,” Bóka told reporters. “As I understand, the Commission has other tools at its disposal to recuperate this sum.”
But the government is willing to engage in a “constructive way” with Brussels to ensure compliance with the ECJ ruling, Bóka said after a ministerial meeting in Brussels, which he had chaired as EU Council Presidency.
Abiding by the verdict would require Hungary to lift all restrictions on the asylum procedure that judges found to be against EU law.
“We agreed on a timetable on how we will conduct these discussions and also on the technicalities and the channels of communications,” Bóka said, referring to his recent meeting with Ylva Johansson, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.
The minister said Budapest was looking into “legal possibilities on how certain expenses that we have incurred in the protection of the border could be offset” against the penalty.
Hungarian officials say they have spent €2 billion since 2015 to curb migration, but Brussels has denied their claim that Budapest is now owed that sum back.
“It’s the responsibility of the Commission to implement the decision of the European Court of Justice,” said Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, at the press conference.
“It will not be the first time that we use the different tools to ensure that we receive the amount decided by the court. It’s very clear,” he added.
Even if there’s no full harmony with Brussles, Bóka’s comments do suggest a willingness to settle the dispute before penalties balloon out of control. The Commission has already asked for €93m and could demand more if wrongdoing persists.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called the fine “outrageous and acceptable” and ratcheted up his eurosceptic rhetoric, while his ministers have sparked a further row by threatening to bus migrants to Brussels.
