Hungary challenges Brussels with free tickets for unwanted migrants

Asylum seekers could be redirected to Western Europe, Budapest has said

Hungary could pay asylum seekers to travel to Western Europe rather than remain in the country, a senior government official warned on Thursday. 

Gergely Gulyas, who heads the office of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, unveiled the plan during a media briefing, touting it as a potential response to penalties imposed on Hungary by the European Court of Justice (ICJ). Last month, the court issued a €200 million ($216 million) fine against Budapest for failing to comply with the EU’s refugee rules, also imposing an extra levy of €1 million a day for continued defiance. 

“We will offer all migrants at the Hungarian border the opportunity to be transported to Brussels voluntarily and free of charge,” Gulyas told journalists. “If Brussels wants migrants, it can have them.” 

The official described the EU court ruling as a “disgrace” and said it would be reasonable to send migrants “in the direction of Austria and Germany” and have them negotiate their future with the European Commission there.

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban previously slammed the court ruling as “outrageous and unacceptable” and said Budapest would find a way to respond.

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The Hungarian government has for years maintained a hard stance on illegal migrants, whom it considers culturally incompatible with Hungarian society. The policy clashes with that of EU members in Western Europe. 

During the migrant crisis of 2015, Hungary erected fences along its border with Serbia and Croatia to cut the inflow, similarly to other Eastern European, as well as imposing other restrictions. The ICJ fine relates to a 2020 ruling which ordered Budapest to alter its approach.

If implemented, the Hungarian plan would presumably resemble the way some states in the US deal with immigrants who have crossed the border from Mexico. Southern governors, particularly Gregg Abbott of Texas, have ordered them to be bussed further north to New York City and elsewhere since 2022. Officials argue that since their counterparts in some states support leniency for illegal migrants, they should bear the burden of hosting them in their communities.