Phasing out two temporary Hungarian migration laws could provide a route to ending the European Union's €1m-a-day fine against Budapest, according to people familiar with talks between the Hungarian government and the European Commission.
The move would not require Prime Minister Péter Magyar to soften Hungary's migration policy, Euronews understands – an idea he has repeatedly stressed as a non-starter even as he pushes Brussels to lift the penalty.
Hungary has lost €910m since the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in 2024 that Viktor Orbán's government had persistently failed to apply EU standards in its treatment of asylum seekers.
In the aftermath of the 2015–16 migration crisis, Hungary effectively barred asylum seekers from lodging claims on its territory by erecting a fence along its border with Serbia, building prison-like transit zones, and pushing migrants back into Serbia. Budapest also declared that asylum seekers must apply for international protection while still in Serbia.
Magyar, who succeeded Orbán after April's elections, has called on European counterparts to resolve the fine, but vowed to keep his predecessor's contested migration policy in place.
