Orban's Christmas Pitch: “We’ll Pay €1m a Day to Keep Hungary Free of Illegal Migrants”

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán released a Christmas-themed video urging tourists to visit Hungary, promoting the country as "the safest place in Europe" and asserting it has no illegal migrants. The short film, shared on social media, mixes winter landscapes, families, clergy and people in traditional dress while a carol plays in the background.

What the video says

Text over the footage declares: “It’s beautiful and the safest place in Europe.” Another on-screen message reads: “We pay a fine of €1m to Brussels every day because we refuse to let illegal migrants in.” The clip ends with the slogan: “Hungary. Your safe space in Europe.”

Legal rulings and penalties

The video comes after a series of rulings and legal actions between Budapest and EU institutions. In 2023–24 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that Hungary had unlawfully restricted migrants’ access to asylum, citing practices such as detaining people in converted shipping containers and placing them in transit camps on the Serbian border (those camps have since closed).

Following those rulings, the ECJ ordered Hungary to pay a lump-sum fine of £169 million in 2024 and imposed a daily penalty of €1 million until the country complies with EU asylum law. Hungary’s 2020 legislation requires migrants to declare their intention to seek asylum at a Hungarian embassy in a non-EU country before travelling to Hungary.

Official statistics show a steep decline in asylum applications: in 2024 Hungary recorded just 29 asylum claims, while Portugal—a country of comparable size—recorded 2,680 claims that year.

Orbán’s public response

Posting on Elon Musk’s X platform, Orbán said he was willing to pay the daily fine rather than change course. He wrote: “A Brusselian [sic] fine of €1m a day for keeping illegal migrants out? We’ll pay it. For our safety, and yours. Better than living in fear.” He added: “This Christmas, experience Europe the way it should be, in Hungary.”

Criticism from EU politicians and rights groups

The video drew strong condemnation from EU politicians and civil society groups. German Green MEP Daniel Freund responded: “Christmas is literally about people from the Middle East seeking shelter. I don’t think anyone has ever understood the Christmas story less than Viktor Orbán.”

Dirk Goetink, a Dutch MEP from the centre-right European People’s Party, accused Orbán’s government of corruption and argued that many Hungarians are tired of it; he predicted the opposition could make gains in next year’s election.

Emmanuel Achiri of the European Network Against Racism described Orbán’s policies as “a political project of exclusion that frames whiteness and ‘European civilisation’ as something to be defended from racialised others,” and warned that a system preventing people from applying for asylum and subjecting them to violence is discrimination disguised as security.

Political context

Orbán—often described as a polarising figure in European politics and a close ally of some international conservatives—has led Hungary for 15 years and faces a national election next year. He is trailing in some polls against pro-EU challenger Péter Magyar but has previously won four consecutive national races.

Tensions with Brussels remain: large portions of EU funding to Hungary have been frozen amid concerns about democratic backsliding. The Hungarian government has promoted proposals from international allies, including a suggested “financial shield” from supporters abroad, as alternatives to the withheld EU funds.

What this means

The video is both a tourism pitch and a political statement: it aims to present Hungary as safe and culturally familiar to some Europeans while doubling down on the government’s hardline migration approach. Whether the strategy will influence voters at home, or shift EU pressure on Budapest, remains a live political issue ahead of next year’s ballot.