The ax has not yet fallen against Hungary, but it has never been so threatening. The European Commission was exceptionally reunited on Sunday, September 18, due to the presence of Ursula von der Leyen in London this Monday, September 19, for the funeral of Elizabeth II. She proposed to suspend 7.5 billion euros in funding if Budapest does nothing to guarantee the proper use of European funds.
This decision follows the initiation, in April, of an unprecedented sanction mechanism, in the event of an attack on the financial interests of the EU. As guardian of the treaties, the Commission criticizes Viktor Orban’s regime for not respecting the basic rules on access to public contracts. Brussels denounces a proportion “abnormally” high number of unique candidates for these contracts, a lack of control of conflicts of interest and a glaring lack of prosecution when fraud is detected.
against corruption
“Hungary has undertaken to inform the Commission of the implementation of measures to remedy the situation by 19 November. We will reassess the situation and act accordingly,” said EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn. To respond to the concerns of Brussels, the Hungarian Parliament must examine, from this Monday, September 19, a bill which provides for the creation of an independent anti-corruption agency responsible for guaranteeing the proper use of European funds.
The changes made will therefore be judged on paper. The final decision to suspend the funds will rest with the Member States, which must obtain a majority of 15 votes out of 27, bringing together at least 65% of the European population. The European Council, which represents them, has one month to decide, unless a period of two additional months is granted.
An ultimatum
The EU is thus putting maximum pressure on Hungary in a context where Prime Minister Viktor Orban is exasperating, against a backdrop of war in Ukraine. His peers accuse him of playing a dirty game with Russia by holding back the adoption of sanctions against Moscow, which has cost him the friendship of Poland.
Added to this are authoritarian excesses. On Thursday 15 September, the European Parliament voted on a report in which it no longer classed Hungary among the ranks of democracies, but rather likened it to “an electoral autocracy”. MEPs call on the Commission not to approve the post-Covid recovery plan presented by Budapest, the funding of which is planned to the tune of 5.8 billion euros by the EU.
Among other grievances, Brussels accuses Hungary of having taken control of the media and universities, of stigmatizing sexual minorities and migrants, of going against the principle of the independence of justice… Budapest is the last country in the Union not to have received these funds provided for in the framework of the recovery plan, 70% of which will be definitively lost by the end of the year. This gives a deadline to the ultimatum, in a Hungary where inflation gallops to more than 15%.