EU activates “special procedure” to collect fines from Hungary

The European Union (EU) executive body has just activated a "special procedure" to deduct a 200 million Euro fine that the European Court of Justice (CJEU) imposed on Hungary over asylum.

The fine must be paid in one lump sum to the European Commission (EC). Budapest missed the first deadline at the end of August, prompting the agency to send a second request for payment, with a deadline of September 17.

As this deadline was also missed, the EC said on 18 September that it would trigger a mechanism called the “set-off procedure” to deduct the €200 million fine from Hungary’s share of the EU budget.

The mechanism will consider various financial packages that are expected to be disbursed to Hungary in the coming weeks. Around 21 billion euros in solidarity and recovery funds for Hungary are still frozen.

Border guards patrol the fence area at the border between Hungary and Serbia, 2017. Photo: DW

"We are moving into the set-off procedure from today," an EC spokesperson said on September 18. "In theory, any payment can be considered, nothing is excluded, but obviously this will take some time, we need to identify upcoming payments and payments that can offset the fine."

At the same time, Hungary faces a fine of €1 million for each day it continues to ignore the CJEU ruling and maintain restrictions on refugee rights, which the court described as “an unprecedented and extremely serious violation of EU law”.

Hungary must explain what measures, if any, it has taken to comply with the ruling. As the central European country failed to respond to the EC’s requests in a timely manner, the EU executive has issued its first fine request. This request is for €93 million and has a deadline of 45 days.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Photo: DW

When the CJEU issued its ruling in June, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán responded by calling the fine “absurd and unacceptable,” and argued that his country should be paid €2 billion for protecting its borders since 2015.

“We should not be punished. Our achievements should be recognized and money should not be taken away from us but given to us so that we can continue this work,” Mr Orbán said in a recent radio interview.

The EC, of ​​course, disagrees with this argument. In retaliation, the nationalist leader's government has threatened to bus migrants to the Belgian capital Brussels, the EU's headquarters, "voluntarily" and "free of charge".

No such transfer of migrants has ever taken place. The announcement from Budapest has been met with fierce criticism from Belgian and EU authorities. This is an unprecedented case in the EU of the migration issue being used by one member state against another.

The long-running dispute between Brussels and Budapest is being complicated by growing concerns over Hungary's decision to extend its so-called "National Card" visa-free scheme to Russian and Belarusian citizens. The EC has warned that this could allow Moscow and Minsk to circumvent sanctions and pose a threat to the entire Schengen Area, of which Hungary is a member.

Budapest has strongly denied any risks to internal security, saying extending the scheme to Russian and Belarusian citizens is necessary to ease domestic labour shortages and provide employers with an “easier procedure” to attract foreign workers.

Despite the tensions, there was a sign of reconciliation this week after Hungary's European Affairs Minister János Bóka met with EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson to discuss both the CJEU ruling and the "Country Card". The minutes of the meeting have not yet been released by the EC.

Minh Duc (According to Euronews)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/eu-kich-hoat-thu-tuc-dac-biet-de-thu-tien-nop-phat-tu-hungary-204240919135511905.htm