EU Intensifies Stance in Refugee Conflict with Member State
Brussels plans to withhold financial assistance from Budapest due to its refusal to accept refugees. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Budapest has failed to make a payment owed for non-compliance with EU asylum regulations.
Balazs Ujvari, a spokesperson for the European Commission, revealed on Wednesday that the EU intends to deduct a portion of Hungary's future financial allocations as a consequence of its refusal to settle a fine for violating the union's asylum rules.
Earlier in the year, the European Court of Justice imposed a €200 million fine on Budapest, with an added daily penalty of €1 million, for obstructing migrants' access to asylum applications, contravening EU migration laws.
Hungary, currently in the role of the EU's rotating president until year-end, has expressed its decision not to pay the fine and has further declared its intention to transport migrants directly to Brussels by bus.
Ujvari noted that it would take the Commission some time to determine which future payments to Hungary could be used to cover the fine.
The conflict between the EU and Hungary originated in December 2020, after the EU's highest court concluded that Hungary had severely restricted access to asylum procedures, essentially making it nearly impossible for refugees to submit applications. At that point, it was also determined that Hungarian authorities were improperly holding asylum seekers in "transit zones," effectively detaining them and violating their rights to appeal.
In 2023, EU legislators ratified a significant migration agreement aimed at redistributing illegal immigrants, predominantly those arriving in Italy and Greece across the Mediterranean, to various EU countries based on a quota system. According to the agreement, countries not situated on the EU's external borders have the choice to either welcome refugees or contribute financially to an EU fund.
This policy was designed to distribute the burden of hosting migrants more evenly across member states after Eastern European countries showed reluctance to accept migrants who had reached Greece, Italy, and other nations. Hungary, along with Poland, opposed the agreement, and Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic abstained from the vote.
Hungarian President Viktor Orban criticized the EU's approach, alleging that “Brussels had legally ‘raped’ Hungary and Poland” by enforcing a quota system for illegal immigrants. Orban pledged not to yield to the EU on this matter.
Ian Smith for TROIB News
Balazs Ujvari, a spokesperson for the European Commission, revealed on Wednesday that the EU intends to deduct a portion of Hungary's future financial allocations as a consequence of its refusal to settle a fine for violating the union's asylum rules.
Earlier in the year, the European Court of Justice imposed a €200 million fine on Budapest, with an added daily penalty of €1 million, for obstructing migrants' access to asylum applications, contravening EU migration laws.
Hungary, currently in the role of the EU's rotating president until year-end, has expressed its decision not to pay the fine and has further declared its intention to transport migrants directly to Brussels by bus.
Ujvari noted that it would take the Commission some time to determine which future payments to Hungary could be used to cover the fine.
The conflict between the EU and Hungary originated in December 2020, after the EU's highest court concluded that Hungary had severely restricted access to asylum procedures, essentially making it nearly impossible for refugees to submit applications. At that point, it was also determined that Hungarian authorities were improperly holding asylum seekers in "transit zones," effectively detaining them and violating their rights to appeal.
In 2023, EU legislators ratified a significant migration agreement aimed at redistributing illegal immigrants, predominantly those arriving in Italy and Greece across the Mediterranean, to various EU countries based on a quota system. According to the agreement, countries not situated on the EU's external borders have the choice to either welcome refugees or contribute financially to an EU fund.
This policy was designed to distribute the burden of hosting migrants more evenly across member states after Eastern European countries showed reluctance to accept migrants who had reached Greece, Italy, and other nations. Hungary, along with Poland, opposed the agreement, and Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic abstained from the vote.
Hungarian President Viktor Orban criticized the EU's approach, alleging that “Brussels had legally ‘raped’ Hungary and Poland” by enforcing a quota system for illegal immigrants. Orban pledged not to yield to the EU on this matter.
Ian Smith for TROIB News
