Hungary's Provocative Migrant Plan: Free One-Way Tickets to Brussels

Hungary's government plans to offer asylum seekers free one-way travel to Brussels, in a move meant to pressure the EU to relent on fines for Hungary's restrictive asylum policies. This comes after the European Court of Justice ordered Hungary to pay substantial fines for breaking EU asylum rules.

Hungary's government signaled its intention to implement a new policy providing asylum seekers with free one-way travel to Brussels, aiming to push the European Union to revoke harsh fines levied against the country for its strict asylum regulations.

At a press briefing in Budapest, State Secretary Bence Retvari argued that the EU was attempting to force Hungary to accept "illegal migrants" and announced plans to offer these migrants complimentary travel to Brussels. Retvari's statement was made against the backdrop of buses marked "Roszke-Brussels," indicating a direct route from Hungary's southern border to EU headquarters.

The controversial scheme comes in response to a European Court of Justice ruling demanding Hungary pay a 200 million Euro fine for consistently violating the bloc's asylum laws. Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has since declared intentions to mount legal proceedings against the EU over these penalties, further straining relations between Budapest and Brussels.

(With inputs from agencies.)