Hungary is ‘ready’ to file lawsuit against Brussels in asylum fight, Budapest says

Viktor Orbán’s Hungarian government is “ready” to file a lawsuit against the European Commission, according to a senior minister.

The escalating battle between Brussels and Budapest centers around a massive fine leveled against Hungary for breaching European Union asylum laws. 

In June 2024 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) fined Hungary €200 million for breaking the EU’s asylum laws by “unlawfully detaining” asylum-seekers and deporting them before they could appeal the rejection of their applications. 

The ECJ ruled that Hungary had committed an “unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law” and must be subject to consequences.

Gergely Gulyás, the minister in charge of Prime Minister Orbán’s office, announced Thursday at the government’s weekly briefing that Budapest’s EU Minister János Bóka will negotiate with the Commission regarding the fine — and he issued a warning to EU chiefs. 

Gulyás demanded that, instead of a fine, Hungary should actually get a partial reimbursement of cash, as it “spent €2 billion on this [border control] without any relevant financial assistance from the European Union.” 

He claimed that while “other countries received financial aid for the protection of the Schengen border,” not clarifying when that happened, Gulyás said that Hungary’s Ministry of Justice will be “ready to file a lawsuit against the Commission,” to reimburse the costs of protecting the EU’s borders.

Orbán’s tough stance on migration during a refugee wave in 2015 was criticized by EU allies. Claiming that “all the terrorists are migrants,” Orbán blocked a vital transit route for asylum-seekers fleeing war. 

Gulyás on Thursday reiterated Hungary’s plan to send buses of asylum-seekers to Brussels, claiming “if Brussels wants migrants, they will get them.”

Hungary already missed its first payment deadline on Sept. 3, but the Commission set it a second deadline for Sept. 17. If Budapest does not deliver the €200 million by that time, the Commission will launch a procedure to subtract the amount from the EU funds Hungary is owed.