The Hungarian government has announced a bold plan to put force on the European Union. The state plans to supply free, one-way tickets to Brussels for asylum seekers. This decision responds to the force of the EU, which imposes advanced penalties for Hungary's restrictive asylum policy.
On Friday, at a press conference in Budapest, the Secretary of State of Bence Rétvári made it clear that Hungary intends to respond to the EU's political actions. He accused Brussels of trying to force Hungary to adopt "illegal migrants" and announced that Hungary would offer them "voluntary, free, one-way transport to Brussels".
Rétvári, standing in front of a series of buses bearing the inscription ‘Röszke-Brussels’, pointed to the symbolic nature of this transport, which is to lead from the confederate border of Hungary to Serbia straight to the capital of the European Union. However, he did not uncover the details of what would happen to migrants after they reached Brussels.
If Brussels wants illegal migrants, Brussels can have them," Rétvári concluded.
Retaliation for EU financial penalties and pressures
The proposal to send migrants to Brussels is simply a consequence to the June judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which ordered Hungary to pay EUR 200 million for violating EU asylum rules. In addition, Budapest must pay EUR 1 million a day until it adapts its policy to the requirements of EU law.
The EU accuses Hungary of obstructing asylum procedures, including by forcing migrants to apply for asylum in embassies in Serbia or Ukraine, which is contrary to Community rules.
Viktor Orbán's government has already announced that it will take legal action against the EU in connection with the penalties imposed. The Prime Minister besides expects compensation for expenditure incurred by Hungary for border protection, including construction of barbed wire fences at borders with Serbia and Croatia. Orbán claims that Hungary defends the Christian culture of Europe against the migration wave.
Conflict with values and regulation of law
Hungary's migration policy is only 1 of the many fronts on which the country is struggling with the European Union. Prime Minister Orbán, known for his anti-immigration stance and EU criticism on issues specified as support for Ukraine, has repeatedly presented his government as a defender of conventional European values. In fresh years, Orbán has repeatedly met with criticism for his controversial statements, including the message that Hungary does not want to become a "nation of the mixed race".
In connection with violations of democratic standards and the regulation of law, The EU has frozen billions of euro for Hungary. any MEPs call for Hungary to be removed from the EU institutions.
AP/mn
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