Orban: Hungary will defy EU court ruling on asylum policy

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST (AP) — Hungary’s prime minister says his country won’t change its immigration policies despite a recent ruling from the European Union’s top court that found them in contradiction with the bloc’s laws. At a news conference in Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orban insisted Tuesday that despite the EU court’s ruling, Hungarian authorities would continue to push migrants back across the country’s southern border and refuse to accept asylum applications filed on its territory. The refusal to comply with the court’s decision could result in heavy fines being levied on Hungary by the EU. The EU’s executive, the European Commission, has already withheld around $8 billion in COVID-19 recovery funds earmarked for Hungary because of inadequate anti-corruption measures.