Hungary threatens the EU with ‘free Brussels ticket for every migrant’

The Hungarian government threatened the European Union (EU) administration with giving every migrant wanting to come to the EU a free one-way ticket to Brussels.

The migrant crisis between Hungary and the EU has reignited. Gergely Gulyas, Head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office, criticized the European Court of Justice ruling that condemned Hungary to pay a fine of 200 million euros for violating EU asylum rules during a press conference held after a cabinet meeting in the capital Budapest. At the press conference he conducted together with government spokesperson Eszter Vitalyos, Gulyas stated, “Brussels wants to force us to accept migrants into the country at any cost.”

Gulyas said that if Hungary continues to be forced to adopt a policy that makes it impossible to detain migrants at the border, his country would offer every migrant wanting to go to the EU a free one-way ticket to Brussels. Criticizing the fine imposed by the European Court of Justice harshly and emphasizing that his country absolutely does not want to pay a fine, Gulyas said, “Therefore, we will make it possible for those who want to enter, and we will offer them a free one-way ticket to Brussels. If Brussels wants migrants, then it can accept them.”

Gulyas expressed, “The protection of the Schengen borders is an important issue for the security of not only Hungary but for all of Europe.” He stated that Hungary does not receive support in protecting the EU’s borders like some other EU countries and mentioned that the Hungarian government is considering its options, including going to court.

Hungary had erected barbed wire fences with sharp edges on its borders with Croatia and Serbia.

In Hungary, which has been targeted for criticism due to its strict policies towards irregular migrants, Prime Minister Viktor Orban had announced that they would not comply with the ruling of the European Court of Justice and that Hungary would not change its immigration and asylum policies.

After the influx of irregular migrants, mostly from Syria, in 2015, Hungary had reinforced its borders with soldiers and police and erected barbed wire fences with sharp edges on its borders with Croatia and Serbia. In December 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary’s practices towards migrants applying for asylum were not in compliance with EU law and requested the country to take the necessary measures. In a ruling made in June of this year, the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary did not comply with the 2020 decision, ordering Hungary to pay a fine of 200 million euros for an asylum system that was contrary to EU law and for unlawfully deporting migrants. It was stated that Hungary also had to pay an additional 1 million euros for each day it delayed fulfilling its obligations as of the date of the ruling.