Hungary’s government signalled it was serious about implementing a plan to give asylum seekers free one-way travel to Brussels, according to AP News.
The measure is designed to pressure the European Union to ease hefty fines against the country for its restrictive asylum policies. At a press conference in Budapest, State Secretary Bence Rétvári stated that the EU wanted to force Hungary to let “illegal migrants” through its borders.
[Hungary would] offer these illegal migrants, voluntarily, free of charge, one-way travel to Brussels.
Rétvári said the transport would take place “after the implementation of the European procedure” but did not specify what status the asylum seekers would receive after the journey. Buses with illuminated “Röszke-Brussels” signs will take the migrants from Hungary’s southern border with Serbia to the EU headquarters in Belgium.
If Brussels wants illegal migrants, Brussels can have them.
EU-Hungary conflict
The provocative proposal to send migrants to Brussels comes in response to a June ruling by the European Court of Justice ordering Hungary to pay a €200 million ($216 million) fine for systematically violating EU asylum rules. The government must also pay 1 million euros a day until it brings its policies in line with EU law.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government announced it would take legal action against the EU over the fines and demanded compensation for billions it said it had spent on border security. The measures included building razor-wire-protected fences on the southern borders with Serbia and Croatia.
The EU froze billions for Budapest over violations of rule of law and democracy standards, with some EU lawmakers demanding Hungary lose its voting rights in the bloc’s executive commission. Hungary’s government also missed the first September deadline to pay a €200 million fine imposed by the European Court of Justice, paving the way for a new conflict with the bloc.
