Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) and European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker | Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images
Juncker slaps down Orbán over border funding request
‘Solidarity is a not an à la carte dish,’ Commission president tells Hungarian premier.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hit back on Tuesday at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s request for extra EU cash for border security, telling him “solidarity is a two-way street” and listing all the help Brussels has offered or provided to deal with migration.
In a letter obtained by POLITICO, Juncker wrote that during the migration crisis in 2015 Hungary declined “the possibility to benefit from [the] relocation of up to 54,000 persons and decided to return nearly €4 million of EU funds pre-paid by the Commission to Hungary.”
The Hungarian premier wrote to Juncker on August 31 requesting the Commission reimburse his government for half of its spending in managing its border — some of which is an EU external border — in recent years.
Orbán controversially ordered the construction of two border fences starting in 2015.
Juncker said three emergency grants totaling €6.26 million were made available to Hungary, which failed to complete the necessary paperwork to access most of the money.
He added that Hungary continues to have access to its national share of an EU internal security fund earmarked for borders between 2014 and 2020, amounting to more than €40 million.
Juncker also bluntly noted that Hungary receives EU subsidies amounting to more than 3 percent of its GDP each year, the highest percentage of any EU member country.
“Solidarity is a two-way street. There are times in which member states may expect to receive support, and times in which they, in turn, should stand ready to contribute,” Juncker said.
“And solidarity is not an à-la-carte dish; one that can be chosen for border management, and rejected when it comes to complying with relocation decisions that have been jointly agreed.”
Juncker said the Commission was ready to “swiftly examine” any request for “specific urgent needs” when it came to border security and “provide the appropriate assistance for a strengthened border control carried out in accordance with EU law.”
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