Regarding the Execution of the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – Case C-123/22. (European Commission v. Hungary)
Dear Budget,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information regarding the financial execution of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s judgment of 13 June 2024 in Case C-123/22 (European Commission v. Hungary). As per the ruling (C/2024/4555), Hungary was ordered to pay a lump sum of EUR 200,000,000 to the European Commission and an additional daily penalty of EUR 1,000,000 until compliance with the Court’s previous judgment is ensured.
Specifically, provide information on the budgetary framework under which the imposed financial penalties have been accounted for or deducted during the execution of the ruling. Detail whether the deductions have been made under any of the following budgetary frameworks, specifying the exact amounts, the dates of deduction, and the method used for each case:
- Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020
- Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027
- Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
Additionally, I would appreciate any relevant documentation or references that detail the legal and procedural basis for such deductions, including any official communications regarding the execution of the judgment.
I would be grateful for your response within the statutory time frame as provided for under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Should you require any clarification regarding this request, please do not hesitate to contact me via the email address provided above.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Yours faithfully,
Dániel Szabó
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[5]RE: 2025/0490 - SZABÓ, Dániel: access to documents request - Regarding
the Execution of the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European
Union (CJEU) – Case C-123/22. (European Commission v. Hungary) -
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Dear Mr Szabó,
Thank you for your request.
On 13 June 2024, the Court of Justice ordered Hungary to pay a one-time
lump sum of EUR 200 million and a penalty payment of EUR 1 million per day
of delay for failure to comply with the rules of EU law (asylum policy) on
procedures for granting international protection and returning illegally
staying third-country nationals.
Hungary neither informed the European Commission about any measures taken
to comply with the Court ruling nor paid any amount requested.
The European Commission is obliged to continue to call the daily penalty
payments as long as the infringement continues and to recover the overdue
amount as long as Hungary does not pay on time. So far, the European
Commission has called the daily penalties for 7 months (EUR 217 million).
The European Commission has recovered the lump sum and the penalty for 3
months (EUR 293 million plus late payment interest) via offsetting
according to Article 102 of the Financial Regulation (REGULATION (EU,
Euratom) 2024/2509 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the
financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union
[6]https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2...). This procedure is
applicable to all debtors of the European Commission.
The offsetting was done under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)
2021-2027.
Kind regrads,
Paola Icardi
Paola ICARDI
Head of Unit
European Commission
DG Budget
Treasury, accounting and financial reporting
Revenue collection and recovery of debts
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2 296.70.71
[7][email address]
Dear Ms. Icardi,
Thank you for providing the detailed information regarding the Court of Justice's order and the subsequent actions taken by the European Commission.
I would like to clarify one point: Could you please confirm the exact amount of the late payment? According to my calculations, using the ECB base rate (October 2024) of 3.25% and the penalty interest rate of 8%, the late payment interest amounts to €32.96 million. Is this correct?
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Dániel Szabó
Dear Mr Szabó,
Apologies for the delay in replying to your question.
I cannot confirm the amount of late payment interest you have calculated.
I can only share with you the provisions of the Financial regulation on
the basis of which late payment interest is calculated.
In this case, late payment interest is applicable after the deadline of 45
calendar days from the date of receipt of the calls for payment at the
rate applied by the European Central Bank to its main refinancing
operations, as published in the C series of the Official Journal of the
European Union, in force on the first calendar day of the month during
which the Court of Justice of the European Union rendered its judgment in
the case C-123/22, increased by 3.5 percentage points.
Kind regards,
Paola Icardi
Paola ICARDI
Head of Unit
European Commission
DG Budget
Treasury, accounting and financial reporting
Revenue collection and recovery of debts
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2 296.70.71
[1][email address]