On Wednesday 17 May, a number of MEPs from Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) reported on their three-day mission to Hungary regarding the assessment and protection of the Union’s financial interests in the country, which is subject to the rule of law conditionality mechanism, and pointed out the many shortcomings still present (see EUROPE 13175/22).
“We want EU funds to go to Hungary, and as quickly as possible, to build schools, put solar panels on roofs, have fast internet throughout Hungary and provide social assistance to the most vulnerable Hungarians”, said delegation member Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, German).
“But what we don’t want is for EU funds to enrich Viktor Orbán’s family and friends by breaking EU rules on fighting corruption or preventing conflicts of interest”.
Many shortcomings remain, according to the members of the delegation, especially concerning the effectiveness of the national Court of Auditors in terms of auditing the planning and implementation of EU funds, as well as the functioning of the national authorities concerned.
“Our questions to the Court of Auditors concerning the manipulation of tenders, the reliability of budgetary accounts, the reporting of fraud cases to the public prosecutor’s office, have remained unanswered”, deplored committee chair Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, German).
She also raised the concerns of civil society and local and regional authorities about the concentration of public procurement in the hands of certain companies and individuals close to the current government.
“The proper implementation of public procurement and fair competition rules is essential to lift the blockage of cohesion funds as well as recovery and resilience funds (RRF)”, she recalled.
She also reported discriminatory measures in the private sector, such as arbitrary changes in laws overnight, unexamined measures under the pretext of a state of emergency, including unjustified special taxes or fees, as well as intimidation.
Regarding the decision-making process, the delegation noted the short time for public consultations, excessive changes to the budget (95 changes in 2022), without any involvement of the national parliament in the decision-making process.
While MEPs in the delegation repeatedly said that they were not “out to get Hungary”, they called on the Hungarian government to implement the 27 milestones, comprising 17 corrective measures, under the rule of law conditionality regulation, as well as the four horizontal enabling conditions in order to release almost €28 billion of ‘frozen’ funds.
A joint resolution on the matter will be drafted shortly and will then be voted on at the next plenary session of the European Parliament. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)