On Sunday, the European Union’s (EU) executive branch recommended suspending approximately 7.5 billion euros in funding to Hungary over concerns of corruption and a democratic backslide. This comes after the bloc’s budget commissioner said that there are several systemic irregularities in Hungary’s anti-graft measures, saying the country has until November 19 to address these concerns.
The EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn, said “It’s about breaches of the rule of law compromising the use and management of EU funds.” He added that the 27-nation bloc is unable to conclude that the EU funds are “sufficiently protected.” The money is from the “cohesion funds” granted to Hungary, which is reportedly one of the biggest parts of the EU’s budget. This fund helps countries to keep their economies and infrastructure up to the bloc’s standards.
Hahn reportedly cited reasons like Hungary’s public procurement laws, the lack of of safeguards against conflict of interests, and the weakness in effective prosecution. A statement released earlier today read, “The European Commission has today proposed budget protection measures to the Council under the conditionality regulation…This is to ensure the protection of the EU budget and the financial interests of the EU against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary.”
Meanwhile, the EU budget commissioner also said that Hungary has until November to address the concerns put forth by the EU, adding that the country’s latest promise to address the 27-nation bloc’s criticism is a step in the right direction. However, it must amount to new laws and pragmatic solutions only then the bloc will be reassured. The move will be in line with EU’s new power under the so-called conditionality mechanism.
Reportedly, such action of suspending the funds must be approved by the bloc’s member countries and it requires a “qualified majority,” which is 55% of the 27 countries which represent 65% of the EU’s total population. Notably, the EU first introduced the financial sanction two years ago in response to Poland and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s actions which amounted to undermining democracy.
ALSO READ: Top European Court rules EU can freeze aid to Poland and Hungary
The 7.5 billion euros amounts to at least 5% of Hungary’s 2022 GDP. Meanwhile, the EU countries have up to three months to make a decision on the proposal. Over the past couple of years, the 27-nation bloc has expressed concerns and accused Orban of dismantling democratic mechanisms and controlling the media, while also highlighting the erosion of minority rights during his time in power.
Orban who has been in power since 2010 has repeatedly denied these accusations while calling himself a “freedom fighter” against the views of the liberal west. According to EU lawmakers, they have turned a blind eye to problems in Hungary for far too long and it is their lack of action that has “contributed to the breakdown in democracy” in the country.
ALSO READ: How the EU allowed Hungary to become an illiberal model
The EU parliament in their resolution stated, “Leaving rule of law breaches unchecked undermines democratic institutions and ultimately affects the human rights and lives of everyone in the country where those breaches are committed.” According to sources, the Commission has previously also blocked at least 6 billion euros in funds that were granted as a Covid economic recovery stimulus over the same concerns of corruption in Hungary.
The local media Budapest has reported that the Orban government may announce new legislation on Monday, however, the EU said last week that this may be a ploy by the government to gain time. The EU resolution on Thursday also said that Hungary’s nationalist government is trying to undermine the bloc’s democratic values, calling it “a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy.” Meanwhile, Orban has termed the government in Budapest, an “illiberal democracy.”
(With inputs from agencies)
