Mihály Varga, the finance minister, said the fact that Hungary was bearing the burden of the EU’s border protection costs violated the principles of solidarity and the fair share of responsibility within the bloc. He said that instead of an 80 billion forint fine, Hungary should receive a 700 billion forint (EUR 1.8bn) compensation for its expenditures. The minister said the situation was not only unfair but also a serious burden on the state budget, noting that the country’s border protection spending was „insignificant” when compared to the 67 trillion forints earmarked for total spending in the EU’s common budget this year. Asked whether Hungary’s EU presidency could „bring about a turnaround” in settling the issue of Hungary’s spending on border protection, Varga said that it might come up at Ecofin meetings scheduled for the autumn.