European Court of Justice
Hungary condemned for asylum policy
A ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg is costing Hungary dearly. Photo
© Arne Immanuel Bänsch/dpa
For years, Viktor Orban’s government has pursued a tough stance against refugees – and repeatedly violates EU asylum law. The European Court of Justice has now sentenced Hungary to pay a fine.
Hungary’s right-wing nationalist government has been reprimanded by the EU Commission on several occasions because of its rigid refugee policy. In previous rulings, the ECJ has already declared essential parts of the Hungarian asylum system to be illegal.
Hardly any changes after the 2020 ruling
The background to the current decision is a lawsuit filed by the EU Commission in 2022. The Brussels authority monitors compliance with common law in the community of states. The EU Commission found that Budapest had not sufficiently implemented an earlier ruling by the ECJ from December 2020 on the Hungarian asylum system.
The judges had ruled at the time that various regulations violated EU law. This included procedures in the now-closed transit camps on the border with Serbia. New rules then stipulated that asylum seekers had to undergo a preliminary procedure in Hungarian embassies before they could possibly enter Hungary to apply for asylum there. The ECJ also overturned this regulation last year.
In the current proceedings, the EU Commission complained that even after the 2020 ruling, Hungary had still not taken the necessary measures to ensure effective access to the asylum procedure.
Judge: Hungary’s policy is a threat to the EU
The judges now largely agreed: Budapest is violating the principle of loyal cooperation in the area of international protection and the rules on the return of illegally staying third-country nationals. This behavior represents a significant threat to the unity of EU law.
Hungary is not the only country that has been fined in recent years. In 2021, Poland was ordered by the ECJ to pay one million euros a day for failing to implement supreme court rulings on a controversial judicial reform. The amount was later halved.