Hungary is overdue to pay a €200 million fine for violating migrants’ rights

Hungary has failed to meet the deadline for paying a €200 million fine imposed by the Court of Justice of the European Union in June due to the Hungarian government’s failure to comply with EU asylum rules. The Telex portal has reported this.

Due to the delay in paying the fine, the European Commission sent the Hungarian government a notice of a new payment deadline: September 17.

Should Hungary fail to transfer the money by this deadline, the European Commission will initiate the process of deducting 200 million euros from the EU funds. Problems with the rule of law in the country have already frozen some of these funds.

Additionally, Budapest must report by September 13 on whether it has aligned Hungarian legislation, which the Court criticized, with EU law.

If the answer does not seem satisfactory to the European Commission, it has the right to “bill” Budapest retroactively—starting from June 13—and reduce Hungarian payments from the funds by this amount.

In June, the EU Court of Justice ruled that Hungary was not complying with EU procedures for the international protection and return of third-country nationals staying in the EU illegally. It imposed a €200 million fine on the country and a €1 million penalty for each day of delay in payment, the media reported.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban responded by claiming that American billionaire George Soros controls the EU Court of Justice.

Last year, the EU Court of Justice also recognized as a violation Hungary’s requirement for asylum seekers to file applications through embassies in Serbia or Ukraine.