Hungary has missed the first deadline to pay the €200 million fine imposed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), prompting Brussels to send a second payment request and setting the stage for an impending head-on clash.
The new deadline is 17 September. If Budapest does not wire the lump sum by then, the European Commission, which is compelled to ensure member states abide by ECJ rulings, will launch the so-called "offsetting procedure" and deduct the €200 million from Hungary's allocated share of the EU budget, parts of which remain frozen over rule-of-law decline.
"There is no wiggle room here. We have to follow the applicable procedures," a Commission spokesperson said on Monday (2 September).
In a ruling issued in June, the ECJ found Hungary had committed an "unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law" due to the country's long-standing restrictions on the right to asylum.