The European Court of Justice fined Hungary for non-compliance with asylum laws, according to TRT World.
The Court of Justice upheld the European Commission’s request to fine Hungary, saying it was following a path that undermined the principle of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility between member states. Now Hungary faces a 200 million euro ($216 million) fine and a daily fine of one million euros ($1.08 million) for failing to comply with the bloc’s asylum laws and illegally deporting migrants.
The European court underlined Budapest continues to restrict migrants’ access to formal asylum applications and does not support their right to remain in Hungary. Budapest deliberately evaded European Union laws despite a 2020 ruling that it must comply with international procedures for asylum seekers, the court said.
“Since this failure to fulfil obligations constitutes an unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law, the Court orders Hungary to pay a lump sum of 200 million euros and a penalty payment of one million euros per day of delay.”
EU member states must submit national asylum plans by December, which will come into force in 2026. The rules will make the bloc’s borders tougher for irregular migrants, who will face faster screening procedures and expedited deportation.
In addition, countries must set up new border centres to hold migrants while their asylum requests are drafted and examined. The new rules also require an EU country to accept thousands of asylum seekers from frontline states such as Italy and Greece, or instead provided money or other resources to countries under pressure.
