“Hungary is suing the CJEU at the CJEU. This is a first in the history of the European Union,” Tuzson said.
In its 2020 decision, the CJEU ruled against Hungary for operating transit zones for migrants along the Hungary-Serbia borders. Later, Hungary changed those rules, mandating migrants to submit asylum requests at a Hungarian embassy of a third country, he added.
Hungary received a fine “unprecedented in the EU’s history”: EUR 200 million euros and EUR 1 mln daily until compliance, he said.
The decision imposed a lump-sum fine 29 times higher than that sought by the European Commission, and a daily fine 61 times higher than the sum sought, he noted.
Hungary cannot appeal the decision already in force but it is launching a lawsuit for damages. The treaty on the EU’s operations says that countries must be compensated for the damages caused by EU institutions, the minister explained.
The CJEU has breached several rules and ignored principles and so violated Hungary’s rights; the CJEU then would pay a large part of the fines to the EU instead of Hungary, Tuzson said.
The right to a fair procedure is a fundamental right; the court should have notified litigants of its intention to impose fines multiple times higher than those requested “so they can prepare”, he argued.
“At the same time, the fines should have been imposed in proportion with the sums specified in the claim,” he said, adding that meanwhile, the court has failed to give a reasoning about the sum imposed.
The “unprecedented” fine also violated the principle of equality among member states, he said, arguing that the court has also violated the principles of legal certainty, predictability and transparency.
“In reality, this is not a legal issue: the CJEU’s decision was rooted in ideological and political causes rather than legal ones. Brussels wants Hungary to allow migrants into the country. We cannot and shall not allow this, that’s why we launched the lawsuit,” Tuzson explained.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
