Yuri Kobzar16:54, 06/21/24

Hungary will introduce a special tax to pay the fine imposed by the European Union on Budapest.

The EU has fined Hungary for violating rules regarding the treatment of migrants and refugees. According to Bloomberg , the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban promised to compensate for these losses at the expense of institutions that helped Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggressor.

During his visit to Berlin on Friday, Orban said he plans to cover the cost of the fine from institutions he believes financed the war in Ukraine. Orban said his officials were already working on legislation that would shift the penalty to “speculators” who “profit” or lend to finance the war in Ukraine, or who benefit from migrants.

The Hungarian prime minister did not provide further details about which institutions or individuals would pay the additional fee. But as Bloomberg notes, Orban does have a history of introducing special taxes on banks and other industries to plug budget holes.

In addition, during his visit to Germany, Orban repeated his statements that the EU and Germany in particular are allegedly sowing chaos and helping to reduce the number of “white people” in Europe by letting in migrants.

Hungary fined for migrants

As UNIAN wrote, the EU’s High Court recently fined Hungary a one-time payment of 200 million euros for systematic violations of asylum rules. The country was also additionally fined for ignoring the previous decision of the European Court – 1 million euros for each day of non-compliance with the court order of 2020.

In particular, Budapest has been accused of brutal treatment of Syrians who arrive in Hungary seeking refuge due to the war in their homeland. In particular, Hungary has built barbed wire fences on its southern borders with Serbia and Croatia, as well as several transit zones to hold asylum seekers on the border with Serbia. These transit zones were subsequently closed.

(C)UNIAN 2024