For the protection of state safety and the policy of tight borders, the EU Court of Justice imposed a multimillion-dollar punishment on Budapest. Hungary has inactive not paid for sound decisions despite the coming years. Eurocrats are threatening that if the funds from Budapest do not go to Brussels, EU funds transferred to Hungary will be reduced.
Hungary has inactive not paid €200 million for the EU Court of Justice (TEU)'s cautious migration policy. If the Budapest government fails to execute the TEU judgement within 2 weeks, the money will be deducted from EU funds. Hungary is besides facing regular penalties of EUR 1 million.
This includes making it hard for third-country nationals to apply for global protection. The EU Court of Justice in 2020 ruled that Hungary was breaking EU law, including by holding applicants for protection in transit zones and expelling those who had been waiting for appeals. The conviction besides afraid the usage of pushbacks – forced return of migrants to a country whose border they crossed.
Shortly after the judgment, Hungary declared the liquidation of the transit zones. However, the TEU considered that Budapest failed to comply with the ruling and in June judged EUR 200 million of penalties. At the same time, in order to force changes in the mazard migration policy, The Court announced that if Hungary does not change its law, a regular punishment of EUR 1 million may be imposed on it.
The European Commission, which is liable for the collection of penalties, asked Budapest for the first time on 16 July to settle the charges, giving it 45 days and on Monday sent a second reminder letter. This time Hungary received 2 weeks to pay. If the money does not come in by September 17, the EC will deduct it from EU funds for Hungary.
The Hungarian government wants the EC to credit the funds it allocates to defender the EU's external border, i.e. its border with Serbia. According to Budapest estimates, the Commission owes him EUR 2 billion for the last 10 years. However, the Ombudsman, Mr Balazs Ujvari, stressed that the procedure for paying or deducting penalties was provided for by the EU regulation and that Budapest's proposal was not in line with it.
A much more serious problem for Hungary may be a regular penalty. By the end of next week, Hungarians must prove that they have implemented the TEU judgment. If the EC considers that Hungary has not done so, it will ask the EU Court in the next step to launch a counter in which EUR 1 million will be charged for each day of delay.
As with the €200 million punishment Hungary may not respond to the request to regulate these penalties. The EC will then implement a procedure for collecting regular penalties, which it tested twice in the case of Poland – in cases concerning lignite coal mines in Turów and the suspension of the operation of the Disciplinary Chamber in the ultimate Court. Penalties against Poland were regularly deducted from transfers to the Ministry of Finance; this was done 22 times in total.
(PAP)/work. FA
