
A Hungarian law firm is seeking 19 cents in compensation after filing a lawsuit against the Republic of Austria, claiming that border controls have caused delays for Hungarian commuters.
The case, brought by NZP Nagy Legal, was heard in Eisenstadt on Wednesday.
The firm argues that the controls breach the Schengen Agreement and is demanding 19 cents as compensation for a detour the lawyers took to avoid a traffic jam at the border. Austrian authorities have denied all claims.
“The lawsuit is more about principle than money,” Hungarian lawyer Mate Ruzicska told journalists after the hearing. The goal, he said, was for Austria to lift the border controls and restore free passage across internal European borders.
During the proceedings, Ruzicska described the controls as “superfluous” and a “sham measure”, stating that practically no migrants were being turned away at the border. He also pointed to “Operation Fox” as a more effective strategy, where Austrian police collaborate with Hungarian authorities to combat people smuggling.
In response, a representative from the Austrian State Financial Procurator’s Office defended the border controls, calling them effective and a “last resort”. She argued that the lawyers had voluntarily accepted the “minor diversions” at the border, and that official liability was not intended to cover such costs.
She also referenced a previous lawsuit filed by the same law firm in November 2023 against the municipality of Schattendorf, which had designated its border crossing as a pedestrian zone. The lawyers had sought 27 cents in compensation for a similar detour, but the claim was rejected. Austria’s Supreme Court even suggested that the case was “close to the borderline of wilfulness and harassing interpretation of the law”, according to the representative, adding that the same reasoning should apply here.
The State Financial Procurator’s Office dismissed a settlement proposal from the law firm, which had included the possibility of asserting claims against German border controls on Austria’s behalf. A judgement will be issued in writing.