THE Hungarian government is preparing to sue the European Commission for the reimbursement of funds that Budapest has spent on border “protection” against migration, a senior official said today.

The threat is the latest twist in a deepening conflict between the EU and Hungary’s far-right government over the latter’s xenophobic immigration and asylum policies.

Hungary’s minister for European affairs has been instructed to negotiate with the EU Commission to resolve the issue, which has seen Budapest fined €200 million (£169m) for breaking the bloc’s rules on granting asylum.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas told a news conference: “In recent years, Hungary has spent an amount equivalent to €2 billion [£1.69bn] on the protection of the external Schengen border without receiving any contribution from the European Union.

“We want to receive these costs from the commission by legal means, so we are even prepared to sue the European Commission.”

Along with the €200m, Hungary has also been ordered by the European Court of Justice to pay an additional €1m per day until it brings its policy on refugees and asylum-seekers into line with EU law.

In response to the fines, the government has threatened to provide immigrants with free bus transport from Hungary’s southern border to the EU headquarters in Brussels, a prospect that the commission warned would prompt retaliation.

Today, Mr Gulyas clarified that only individuals who had received political asylum from Hungary would be eligible for the free travel.

“Illegal immigrants will not enter Europe through Hungary and the southern border of Schengen,” he said.

“Those who receive political asylum under the legal procedure under EU rules, and based on their voluntary decision, are offered a one-way, free trip to Brussels.”

Hungary has until next Tuesday to pay the fines.