The European Commission threatened on Sunday to deprive Hungary of 7.5 billion euros of European funding, because of the risks linked to corruption in this country, while granting a few weeks of delay to Budapest to carry out reforms. Viktor Orban’s Hungary is targeted in particular for “irregularities” and “deficiencies” in the procedures for awarding public contracts, the “abnormally” high proportion of single candidates for these contracts, the lack of control of conflicts of interest and legal proceedings in the event of suspicion of fraud.
The European executive therefore suggests to the Council, an institution representing the Member States which is responsible for the final decision, to suspend 65% of the funds of three programs linked to cohesion policy, which represents 7.5 billion euros. However, a way out remains open. The Commission recommends that the Council allow itself up to three months to assess the implementation of the 17 key measures to which Hungary has committed to address the concerns.
Budapest is also waiting for its post-Covid recovery plan
“It is right to give yourself a little time in order to be able to really see the concrete results” of these reforms, declared Johannes Hahn, believing that they could “change the game”. The Commission will reassess the situation on 19 November. “We are moving in the right direction. We continue the work (…) so that the Hungarian people receive the resources to which they are entitled! “, reacted on Facebook the Hungarian Minister of Justice, Judit Varga, who has made a tour of several European capitals in recent days to plead the cause of her country.
Budapest is struggling to try to escape the ax, but also to convince Brussels to unblock its post-Covid recovery plan (5.8 billion euros in subsidies), as the country faces galloping inflation and the fall of the forint , the national currency. Hungary is the only EU country whose plan has still not received the green light from the European Commission, for the same reasons related to respect for the rule of law. Without an agreement on the Hungarian recovery plan by the end of the year, 70% of the subsidies will be lost.
Hungary considered “an electoral autocracy”
Hungary recently announced that it would quickly set up an “independent authority” to fight corruption to monitor the use of EU funds, and pledged to improve transparency in public procurement. Measures must allow citizens to bring a complaint before the courts if they believe that the prosecution has arbitrarily terminated a corruption investigation. The transparency of the legislative process must also be reinforced.
“Last chance for Viktor Orban. The time for discussions is over,” tweeted French MEP Valérie Hayer (Renew Europe). The German elected Daniel Freund (Greens) for his part judged that the proposed measures were “insufficient” and would “not prevent Orban and his cronies from stealing European funds”. The European Parliament estimated on Thursday, in a report voted by a large majority, that Hungary was no longer a true democracy but “an electoral autocracy”, calling on the Commission to “refrain from approving Hungary’s plan that it will not have complied fully with all the recommendations” from Brussels.
