Hungary urgently needs EU funds – the decision is near. Nonetheless, Viktor Orbán continues to rumble against Brussels. There could be a system behind it.
Brussels/Budapest – Again and again trouble with Viktor Orbán: The Hungarian President constantly shoots across the sanctions against Russia – only again on Friday. Meanwhile, his country is struggling for billions in aid from Brussels. They are on hold because of doubts about Hungary’s rule of law. Still.
Because a German member of the EU parliament attested to Orbán at best “sham reforms”. But the Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga is still optimistic that the funds will be paid out soon. This would give Brussels an important lever in the struggle with Orbán. The exit is currently open. Because it seems plausible that there is a connection between the sanctions blockade from Budapest and the fight for the EU billions.
Hungary: EU billions for Orbán soon on the way? Experts and critics slam reforms
In the coming week things will get serious in the Hungary question. The EU Commission wants to make a recommendation to the member states as to whether subsidies for Hungary amounting to 7.5 billion euros should be canceled. On Friday, Varga emphasized on the fringes of a meeting of European ministers that the government had “fully implemented” Brussels’ demands for the rule of law. She will inform the EU Commission about the Hungarian reforms in a letter in due time. Hungary had until Saturday (November 19) to do so.
In fact, Viktor Orbán’s government has announced 17 reform steps to prevent the misuse of billions in aid, which has been criticized by the EU. Among other things, an independent anti-corruption authority is to be created. But there are not only doubts about the quality of the reforms – but also criticism of the extent of the EU demands on Orbán. After all, society in Hungary is not only struggling with corruption, but also with problems with media freedom.
After a trip to Hungary, German MEP Daniel Freund (Greens) recently complained that steps relating to the implementation of the rule of law are not included in the reform demands. Measures that have been decided, such as the obligation to receive more than one company application for public tenders, could easily be circumvented, in the given case, for example, by bogus offers. Hungary is considered a hotbed of corruption – in many cases friends and confidants of Orbán probably benefited from EU projects. The NGO Transparency International also described the measures in an analysis as “unsuitable” to fully achieve the objectives.
Hungary “irretrievably a swamp of corruption”? MEPs expect the worst
Freund warned that without further reforms, Hungary could be a “non-democratic country member of the EU”. And the EU Commission, headed by President Ursula von der Leyen, even made a decisive contribution to this with a positive testimony about the measures. The Green is not alone with his warning: the Liberals in Parliament also want to oppose a quick end to the freeze on funds. Such a move would destroy “years of fighting for the rule of law,” said FDP politician Moritz Körner on Thursday. “This could irretrievably turn Hungary into a corruption swamp,” he said.
“If we allow the foundations to be eroded from within, then the European Union as we know it will not last much longer,” Parliament Vice President Katarina Barley said in an interview in 2021 Merkur.de explained. The warning to von der Leyen at the time was followed by a lawsuit from Parliament: it complained that the Commission was “inactive” in matters relating to Hungary and Poland. Only after the Hungarian elections in April, which were successful for Orbán, did the commission actually resort to the rule of law mechanism.
Hungary: Will the EU release the funds? Germany warns – but the majority could still stand
However, the final decision on the payment of the funds now rests with the member countries. They must agree to stop aid payments to Hungary. According to diplomats, however, the necessary majority of at least 15 EU countries, which represent 65 percent of the European population, is not emerging there.
But Germany and France are not yet satisfied. The German European State Secretary Anna Lührmann (Greens) called on the EU Commission in Brussels to send a “clear signal”. Hungary must also make “clear progress” on media freedom. According to Emmanuel Macron’s Europe Minister Laurence Boone, in a joint declaration, Berlin and Paris are also urging Hungarian fundamental rights guarantees on “the right to strike, discrimination against minorities and academic freedom”.
Orbán fears for EU money – and happily rumbles on: “You need his approval”
Orbán, meanwhile, once again drummed against EU sanctions for Vladimir Putin’s Russia in the Ukraine war. These are a “step towards war”. “Taking a stand” could quickly amount to “becoming an actual opponent of the war,” Orban said in a radio interview on Friday. By “supplying destructive weapons, training Ukrainian soldiers on our own territory and sanctioning energy”, the EU is endangering itself.
But more controversial: Orbán rejected a EUR 18 billion aid package for Ukraine proposed by the EU Commission in the form of concessional loans. “Hungary will not accept that EU members jointly borrow to help Ukraine,” he said, according to the MTI news agency. Instead, a sum “fairly” divided among the EU member states should be paid out. Hungary can provide up to 170 million euros as part of a bilateral agreement with Kyiv.
Hungary’s right-wing nationalist head of government has been one of the few Western leaders to have taken a neutral stance on Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. He rejected military aid for Ukraine. In a conversation with the taz Freund recently warned that Orbán’s levers of power against the EU are precisely the Russia sanctions and the Ukraine aid: “His luck is that there are still bigger problems that are more important and for which you need his approval”.
On one point, however, Barley and Orbán seem to agree bitterly – and for very different reasons: they see a difficult future for the EU. In a speech at the end of October, Orbán predicted a fate similar to that of the Eastern bloc for the European Union: “We shouldn’t worry about those who are shooting at Hungary somewhere in the shadow of the watchtowers in Brussels,” Orban said. “They will end where their predecessors ended.” (fn/AFP)
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