Thu Sep 12 10:05:59 UTC 2024: ## Hungary Threatens EU Lawsuit Over Border Protection Costs
**BUDAPEST** – Hungary has threatened to sue the European Union (EU) to reclaim funds spent on border protection, potentially deepening a conflict with the bloc over its restrictive immigration policies.
Hungary’s government claims to have spent €2 billion on safeguarding the Schengen zone border without receiving any contributions from the EU. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, announced that Hungary is exploring legal avenues to force the EU Commission to reimburse these costs.
This move comes after Hungary was fined €200 million by the European Court of Justice for breaking the bloc’s asylum rules and faces an additional €1 million daily fine until it complies. Budapest is currently delaying payment.
The conflict escalated further with Hungary’s threat to provide free bus transport for immigrants from its southern border to Brussels. This move, viewed by the EU Commission as a provocation, has been clarified by Gulyás as only applying to individuals granted political asylum in Hungary.
Gulyás criticized Germany’s recent decision to reinstate border checks along all its frontiers, arguing that this move will ultimately dismantle the Schengen zone.
Hungary has until September 17th to pay the fines imposed by the EU court. This legal battle, alongside the ongoing tensions over immigration policies, threaten to further fracture the unity of the EU.
First Piper 