Hungary has said it may start sending migrants who show up at its border directly to Brussels if it fails to resolve a dispute with the European Union over fines for its asylum policy. This was stated on Thursday by the head of the office of the Hungarian Prime Minister Gergely Gulyás, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
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The European Court of Justice has imposed a fine of €200 million plus an additional daily fine of €1 million on the country for Prime Minister Viktor Orban's failure to comply with a previous court ruling on the protection of asylum seekers. Orban has already vowed to retaliate in June for the ruling, which is one of several issues clouding the country's EU Council presidency in the second half of 2024.
Negotiations with the European Commission will begin in September, Gergely Gulyás told reporters in Budapest on Thursday. If the talks fail, Hungary will start issuing migrants "one-way tickets to Brussels," Gulyás said.
"We need to come to an agreement as soon as possible because we would not want to pay large sums every day," Gulyash said. - "But if Brussels wants to accept migrants, we can help.
Although Gulyash did not provide details on how such a scheme would work, the idea echoes the controversy between US states over migrants being bused to New York from the Texas border. In Europe, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised that his new Labor government would reverse his predecessor Rishi Sunak's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Representatives of the European Commission refused to comment on Gulyash's remarks.
Separately this week, Hungary was criticized by human rights groups for withdrawing a state-funded shelter for Ukrainian refugees arriving from regions not directly affected by the fighting. A group of Hungarians from Zakarpattia in western Ukraine were temporarily left homeless after the move, although Gulyás said aid groups helped them find housing.
The EU executive is studying the order, according to the spokesperson, but said that the EU has a united position in providing protection, including accommodation, for those fleeing the conflict, the newspaper writes.