The ruling bans the Hungarian Treasury from collecting solidarity contributions from the municipality in May, June, July and August, the statement said.

It also instructed the respondent to pay back to the local authority some HUF 10.2 bln (EUR 25.3 mln) with interest, calculated from May 29 when the Treasury collected it from City Hall’s account.

In its ruling, the court said that the Budapest municipality was in a special situation among local authorities as it is responsible for providing public services for millions of inhabitants.

Collecting the solidarity contribution “would make [the municipality’s] liquidity situation impossible” and so would make it incapable of performing its duties, it said.

The municipality has fully proven that paying the solidarity contribution would directly cause an “irreparable burden” to its financial situation, the court said.