As also reported by Magyar Nemzet, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ordered Hungary to pay 200 million euros for failing to respect EU law.
In the judgment handed down on Thursday, the EU's Luxembourg-based court has also ordered Hungary to pay a fine of one million euros for each day of delay in complying with the rules, as it has failed to comply with the court's judgment of December 2020 on the violation of the provisions of the directives on the reception and return of applicants for international protection.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the Hungarian government did not comply with EU asylum rules and violated EU law by establishing so-called transit zones, constitutional lawyer Zoltan Lomnici Jr told our paper.
In fact, the Court of Justice of the European Union also represents the position held by Brussels, and ultra vires, exceeding its powers as is customary for the leading bureaucrats of EU institutions, it is seeking to force Hungary to let migrants in, using the instruments of law. This is done because Hungary refuses to bow to the decisions taken by Brussels, which would unleash illegal immigrants on us and create migrant ghettos in the country,
the legal expert at Szazadveg Foundation said.
With this legal instrument, the EU power center is essentially threatens and blackmails Hungary, exerting strong political coercion on the country through the heavy financial penalty imposed, Zoltan Lomnici Jr pointed out.
In this case, Brussels' blackmail represents a threat which, through particularly discrediting or defamatory claims, is intended to prevent Hungary from applying the provisions of its own constitution and constitutional rules in a free, sovereign and lawful manner.
Brussels is manipulating, using a method deliberately employed by the judicial-technocratic machinery in order to control or more directly influence the thinking of national politicians and, ultimately, the decisions and actions taken by national governments through power relations or some kind of influencing, with EU proposals and obligations,
the expert explained.
As the EU power elite is unable to accept the Hungarian government's and the Hungarian people's strong and clear rejection of migration, Brussels would now make the Hungarian people pay two hundred million euros and a penalty of one million euros for each day of delay.
The court, like any court in a member state, should administer justice and apply the tools of the law without bias or political influence, the legal expert pointed out. Hungary's Fundamental Law, in his view, is clear and the Constitutional Court has repeatedly taken a position on the settlement of foreign populations into the country.
The Fundamental Law states: "With a view to participating in the European Union as a Member State and on the basis of an international treaty, Hungary may, to the extent necessary to exercise the rights and fulfil the obligations deriving from the Founding Treaties, exercise some of its competences arising from the Fundamental Law jointly with other Member States, through the institutions of the European Union. Exercise of competences under this paragraph shall comply with the fundamental rights and freedoms provided for in the Fundamental Law and shall not limit the inalienable right of Hungary to determine its territorial unity, population, form of government and state structure".
The constitutional lawyer also pointed out that although the primacy of EU law is generally recognized, there are exceptions. If the exercise of shared competence is incomplete, Hungary is entitled, in accordance with the presumption of sovereignty retained, to exercise the non-exclusive EU competence in question until the EU institutions take the necessary measures to ensure the effective exercise of shared competence. If this leads to consequences that could violate the right to self-identity of persons living on its territory, the Hungarian state, as part of its duty to protect the institutions, is obliged to ensure that this right is protected, the expert said.
It is strictly and only within the confines of this framework that European Union law can establish a generally binding code of conduct.
What can Hungary do about this decision?
The European Commission (EC) or another member state can start infringement proceedings against a member state that is not respecting its obligations under EU law. If the Court of Justice of the European Union establishes that a member state has failed to fulfill its obligations, that state must comply with the judgment as soon as possible," Zoltan Lomnici Jr said.
The constitutional lawyer noted that the most blatant procedural irregularities can be observed in the discretionary power of the court. It is essential that, in the exercise of its discretion, the court must in all cases determine the penal payment in such a way that it is appropriate to the circumstances and proportionate to the infringement established and to the member state's ability to pay.
"Seventy times the amount requested by the European Commission cannot under any circumstances be considered to comply this requirement," he stressed.
The judgment that has now been handed down is, therefore, in many respects unfounded or inadmissible, and raises questions of overstepping its powers and even arbitrariness.
There are plenty of examples of similar cases in recent times. It is worth mentioning the decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court of May 5, 2020, in which the constitutional court declared an earlier decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union to be ultra vires, i.e. arbitrary and exceeding its powers, and declared it not binding in Germany.
