Hungary has suggested it may begin transporting migrants who arrive at its border directly to Brussels unless it can resolve an ongoing dispute with the European Union over penalties related to its asylum policies, Bloomberg reports.
This announcement comes in response to a $223 million fine imposed by the European Court of Justice, along with an additional daily penalty of €1 million, due to Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s failure to comply with previous court rulings on the protection of asylum seekers.
In June, Orban promised retaliation for the ruling, which adds to a series of contentious issues as Hungary prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the EU in the latter half of 2024. Gergely Gulyas, the minister in charge of the prime minister’s office, indicated that negotiations with the European Commission will commence in September. He warned that if these talks do not yield a resolution, Hungary will start issuing “one-way tickets to Brussels” for migrants.
“We should find an agreement as soon as possible because we wouldn’t like to pay large amounts on a daily basis,” Gulyas stated. “But if Brussels wants to take in migrants, we can help.”
While he did not provide details on how this transportation scheme would be implemented, the concept mirrors similar disputes in the US, where migrants have been bussed from the Texas border to New York.
A spokesperson for the European Commission declined to comment on Gulyas’s remarks.
In a separate development, Hungary faced criticism from human rights organizations this week for withdrawing state-funded accommodation for Ukrainian refugees arriving from regions not directly impacted by the fighting. This move left a group of Hungarians from Ukraine’s western Transcarpathia region temporarily homeless, though Gulyas noted that aid groups stepped in to provide accommodations.
The EU’s executive arm is currently examining this decree, with a spokesperson affirming that the EU remains united in its commitment to providing protections and accommodations for those fleeing conflict.
