Prime Minister Viktor Orban called the decision “outrageous and unacceptable” in a Facebook post.
Additionally, Budapest’s nationalist government, which has previously refused to comply with the 2020 court ruling, will face a daily fine of one million euros ($1.08 million) until it fully implements the required measures.
The European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary had failed to implement measures “to comply with the 2020 judgment concerning the right of applicants for international protection to remain in Hungary pending a final decision on their appeal against the rejection of their application and the removal of illegally staying third-country nationals.”
Orban’s government contended that the 2020 ruling was irrelevant since it had already closed the “transit zones” and toughened rules to prevent future asylum applications.
Under current legislation, individuals can only submit asylum requests at Hungary’s embassies in neighbouring Serbia or Ukraine.
Those attempting to cross the border are routinely turned back.
Orban, who has often been at odds with the EU’s executive commission on issues like the independence of Hungary’s judiciary and sending arms to Ukraine, vowed in 2021 to “maintain the existing regime (regarding asylum seekers) even if the European court ordered us to change it.”
In early 2022, the European Commission lodged a second application with the court, contending that Hungary had not fully complied with the court’s 2020 judgment.
The ECJ’s verdict on Thursday described this non-compliance as a deliberate refusal to implement a unified EU policy, labelling it an unprecedented and gravely serious violation of EU law.