



The Hungarian government is demanding the EU pay for half of the border wall erected along its southern borders to stave off migrants.



Evoking the spirit of Donald Trump - who wants Mexico to pay for new barrier along its border with the US - the premier will ask the bloc to foot half the bill for the €800m structure.



The 2015 migrant crisis saw millions of refugees trudge through Serbia towards Hungary, an EU member, with an estimated 400,000 successfully crossing the border.







The Hungarian border wall.







Mr Orban and his government took matters into their own hands, erecting razor wire fences along the borders with Serbia and Croatia, effectively sealing off a key route to Europe. A second fence was completed in April.

The demand for the EU to pay €400 million was made on Thursday (31 August) by Janos Lazar, the prime minister's chief of staff, who told reporters that "Brussels should pay its share".



Hungary, the minister argued, “was protecting all the citizens of Europe from the flood of illegal migrants,” warning that “double standards cannot be applied.”



Currently the EU is waging a legal war against Hungary, Czech republic and Poland over their refusal for the EU forced migrant relocation scheme, and the head of the EU, Jean Claude Juncker, is known for his extreme bias when it comes to the subject of Hungary ( he once called Mr. Orban a "dictator" ) , migrants and walls, and is unlikely to view this demand from the Hungarian government with favor.







Read more about the EU's cold war against Hungary, Poland and Czech republic over its forced migrant quotas.





