Earlier this week, the Council reached an agreement on establishing its so-called migration ‘solidarity’ pool for 2026. The pool is part of the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact; it will use Member States’ contributions to finance those countries that are under migratory pressure. It forms the basis of the EU’s first migration management cycle starting on 12 June 2026. Member States not under migratory pressure are required to either take in 21,000 migrants from countries ‘under pressure’ or—if they do not want to accept relocated migrants—pay 420 million EUR into the pool. In other words, the Commission requires Member States to pay 20,000 EUR for every migrant they are not ready or willing to take in.
Some argue, however, that the EU’s ‘solidarity’ pool is nothing but a punishment for those countries that handled migration well over the years. Member States, such as Hungary, which were quick to react in 2015 when the first migration wave hit Europe and dealt with migratory pressure well at their borders, are now required to pay into an EU pool to finance countries that could not control the situation.
Other than introducing the so-called solidarity pool, the Migration and Asylum Pact also includes a list of ‘safe third countries’ and ‘safe country of origin’ to which rejected asylum applicants can be deported. People coming from these ‘safe countries of origin’, such as Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia, will have their cases fast-tracked and are likely to be rejected. While the EU hopes that the Pact will result in returning those whose applications were assessed negatively, critics highlight that these migrants should not have been allowed to enter the EU in the first place.
‘The pool is part of the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact; it will use Member States’ contributions to finance those countries that are under migratory pressure’
To prevent illegals from even entering the bloc, Hungary, for instance, proposed assessing asylum applications outside the country’s border, in transit zones. Other countries, such as Italy, proposed assessing asylum applications in third countries (eg, Albania), thereby ensuring that those who are not eligible for a status cannot illegally enter the Schengen Zone. These countries argued that once migrants cross into the EU, even if later their applications are rejected, they can easily disappear from the sight of the authorities, making it impossible to deport them.
Under the so-called solidarity mechanism, the European Commission assessed four countries, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain, to be under migratory pressure; that is, while these countries may benefit from the pool, other Member States are required either to pay or to take in migrants. However, some countries, like Hungary, remain strictly opposed to both ideas. With its criticism, Budapest is far from being alone—shortly after the decision in the Council, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Berlin would not accept additional asylum seekers and would not offer financial support, according to DW.
The Council’s decision, which Hungary voted against, was met with fierce criticism in Budapest. ‘Why should Hungarians pay for others’ mistakes?’ Secretary of State for International Communication Zoltán Kovács asked the question. ‘Since 2015, more than 6 million illegal migrants have entered Europe. Hungary stopped them at its border. Result? ZERO illegal migrants in Hungary today…they call it a “solidarity mechanism”. We call it what it is: a punishment for success. Those who opened their borders get rewarded. Those who defended theirs must now “show solidarity” or face sanctions. This isn’t solidarity. It’s coercion.’
Reflecting on the issue, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote on X: ‘With today’s decision, Brussels is attempting to force Hungary to pay even more or take migrants in. This is unacceptable. Hungary already spends enough to protect the Union’s external border.’ The last point mentioned by the Prime Minister is a question that Hungary frequently raised during the negotiation of the Migration Pact. Hungary managed to keep out and defend the Schengen Zone from the influx of immigrants through its effective border security. The EU, however, does not support countries with their border expenses through the Pact, which Budapest finds unjust.
Hungary plays a crucial role in protecting Schengen countries from illegal migration. Until mid-November, Hungarian authorities have detained 12,000 border violators, stopping illegals from entering the EU from the South. Hungary has been consistently following a tough stance on unauthorized migration—long before other European leaders dared to talk about putting an end to non-documented arrivals, Hungary has closed its borders.
In addition to this week’s development that requires Budapest to pay into the ‘solidarity pool’ to support other EU country’s migration management, Hungary did pay a price for its stance on migration on other occasions too: the European Court of Justice fined Budapest with a lump sum fine of 200 million EUR and with a daily penalty fine of 1 million EUR for its migration policies.
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