European Commission Deduces €200 Million Fine from Hungary’s EU Budget Over Asylum Rights Violations

The European Commission has initiated a special procedure to deduct a €200 million fine from Hungary’s share of the EU budget after the country failed to pay the penalty imposed by the European Court of Justice for long-term violations of asylum rights. Hungary missed two deadlines, the first at the end of August and the second on September 17.

The fine will be deducted through the "set-off procedure," which allows the Commission to withhold payments earmarked for Hungary from the EU budget, including €21 billion in frozen cohesion and recovery funds due to Hungary's weakening rule of law. A European Commission representative stated that the process will take time, as they must determine which payments can cover the fine.

Hungary is also facing a €1 million daily fine for continuing to defy the European Court’s ruling, which deemed the country’s asylum restrictions "an unprecedented and extremely serious violation of EU law."

In response to these sanctions, Hungary’s government, led by Viktor Orbán, has threatened to "voluntarily" transport migrants to Belgium and has expanded programs allowing Russian and Belarusian citizens to enter Hungary despite EU restrictions.