Budapest, Aug 23: Hungary’s anti-immigration government has announced it will offer free one-way tickets to Brussels for migrants and asylum seekers attempting to enter the European Union. This decision comes in response to substantial fines imposed by the EU for Hungary’s restrictive asylum policies.
In a news conference held in Budapest, Gergely Gulyás, the chief of staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, criticized a June ruling by the European Court of Justice. The court had fined Hungary $216 for repeatedly violating EU asylum regulations and imposed an additional penalty of 1 million euros per day until Hungary aligns its policies with EU law.
Gulyás accused the EU of attempting to force Hungary to admit migrants, referencing the EU headquarters in Belgium. He declared that if the EU persists in imposing regulations that prevent Hungary from detaining migrants at its borders, Hungary will provide free transportation to Brussels for any migrant who wishes to travel there.
Hungary’s strict stance on immigration dates back to the 2015 migrant crisis when over 1 million people, mainly fleeing conflict in Syria, entered Europe. The country responded by constructing fences with razor wire along its southern borders with Serbia and Croatia, and by establishing transit zones for holding asylum seekers. These transit zones have since been closed.
The EU has criticized Hungary’s stringent asylum system and has challenged Budapest’s requirement for asylum seekers to travel to Hungarian embassies in Serbia or Ukraine to apply for travel permits. This practice, which contravenes EU regulations that mandate uniform asylum procedures across member states, led to the recent court ruling.
Orbán, known for his right-wing populist stance and frequent clashes with the EU, has previously vowed that Hungary will not alter its migration and asylum policies despite judicial rulings. On August 22, Gulyás condemned the fines imposed on Hungary, stating that the country is unwilling to continue paying them and will instead facilitate the transport of migrants to Brussels if they so choose.
This move by Hungary echoes similar actions taken by Republican governors in the United States since 2022, who have transported undocumented immigrants to Democratic strongholds such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago in protest of federal asylum policies.