It’s a real charm offensive involving Hungary’s Justice Minister Judit Varga, who has been visiting European capitals since early September.She started in Brussels, where she was received by no less than seven EU commissioners, including Vera Jourova, who was responsible for EU values (EU and transparency), and nonetheless Victor Ou Viktor Orban also asked for the chair in September 2020, after she called Hungary the “Sick Democracy”. Then she went to Madrid, Lisbon, then Paris, and should be packing in Berlin soon. “This is the first time Viktor Orban’s Hungary has made such a diplomatic effort. It must be said that a lot of money is at risk”commenting on a diplomat.
Hungary does face the threat of being stripped of billions of euros in Community funding due to Brussels concerns over corruption, conflicts of interest or public procurement conditions in the country. It has little time to convince its European partners not to go to such extremes.
protect the interests of taxpayers
On Sunday, September 18, the European Commission inexplicably proposed a suspension of €7.5 billion in payments to Budapest, while encouraging it to continue its efforts. To better understand this case, we need to review it a bit. In April, just after Viktor Orban’s successful re-election, EU executives launched an unprecedented mechanism for Budapest, aimed at protecting European taxpayers by verifying that breaches of the rule of law do not punish communities Budget.
While Hungary has to contend with soaring inflation and a falling guilder, Budapest cannot do without European money.So this summer, the government proposed a series of 17 reforms, including establishing “Independent Authority” Anti-corruption working group to which anti-corruption and NGOs will participate. “When you listen to Judit Varga tell you about these initiatives, you will feel that Hungary is a beacon in Europe’s fight against corruption! We will give him a good Lord without a guilty plea”commenting on another diplomat.
In the face of Viktor Orban’s efforts, the committee wants to open doors for him. At the same time, it is of course also proposing to Member States to draw as much as 7.5 billion euros from the cohesion fund available to the country. This is almost 20% of the aid Hungary must receive from the European Union (EU) between 2021 and 2027. “For now, we cannot conclude that the EU budget is protected. The promise has not been delivered”Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn stressed.
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