Government Calls on Brussels to Pick Up Border Protection Tab

Finance Minister Mihály Varga has invited the EU Budget Commissioner to Hungary’s southern border, revealed a recent report by Index. “The Hungarian government’s intention is consistent and clear on border protection costs: we expect a greater contribution from Brussels,” the Minister said.

The story dates back to December 2023, when Mihály Varga  wrote an official letter to EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn, saying that the protection of the European Union’s common borders is based on a consensus that goes back many decades. The original legislative idea was that Member States located at the external borders of the EU would provide for the protection of the borders through joint financing. The Minister underlined that the migration crisis has now created a situation where this intention is not fully met.

Since 2015, Hungary has prevented one million illegal border crossings on the country’s southern Schengen border. Migration pressure is increasing, with Hungarian border guards taking action against 100,000 illegal migrants this year alone, the news site reports. While Hungary spent more than EUR 1.6 billion on border protection between the outbreak of the migration crisis and the writing of the letter (roughly until December last year), the EU contribution to these costs is barely more than one percent, Varga pointed out.

We would consider it fair and equitable if the European Commission would acknowledge this effort and make an appropriate contribution to the financing of the increased costs of the Schengen border protection tasks in Hungary,”

the minister told Index.

The Finance Minister recalled that Hungary had protected Europe’s borders on numerous occasions throughout its history. “And today, as a member of an alliance, the European Union, we are doing the same. In Europe’s major cities we are now experiencing the challenges of public security related to migration on a daily basis.”

Varga had already warned last October about the state of accountability of border protection spending.

We have repeatedly asked Brussels to take into account that countries like Hungary are making serious efforts to curb illegal migration. If this money were to come in, it would reduce the budget deficit by almost 1 percentage point,”

he told Index last year.

As Hungary’s spending on border protection continues to rise, Varga has invited the EU Budget Commissioner to the southern border. Asked about the response to his letter, he said that the European Commission still did not consider it justified to reimburse a higher share of the costs. This is why he invited Johannes Hahn to the southern border, “to personally inform him about the efforts of the soldiers, police, and border guards serving on the Hungarian border and the effectiveness of the Hungarian border protection system.”

Via Index, Featured image: X/Barna Pál Zsigmond