According to a European Union proposal, governments may pay hefty penalties, if they do not comply with directives for the resettlement of migrants. Countries could pay "solidarity contribution" of up to 250,000 euros per person for denying asylum to refugees.
The commission’s goal is to redistribute the weight of the refugee crisis from countries such as Greece by introducing automatic asylum quotas for each EU member state. So far, the commission’s scheme to relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers has reportedly not even reached one percent of its target.
Reports on the EU's initiative came at the same time as Hungary’s Supreme Court gave the green light to hold a referendum on the EU migration quota, pushed by the Orbán cabinet, which strongly opposes the scheme and has even challenged it in court.
"The size of the contribution may change but the idea is to make it appear like a sanction," the Financial Times cited one official on Tuesday, who has seen the proposal. Another diplomat said in any event the price of refusing to host a refugee would be "hundreds of thousands of euros".
