The EU and Hungary have been at loggerheads for months, with Brussels suspecting that the government led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is undermining the rule of law and using EU money to enrich its cronies. The European Commission’s budget commissioner, Johannes Hahn, told a press conference on Sunday that the EU executive proposed suspending “commitments for cohesion programs and cohesion policy amounting to [an] estimated amount of 7.5 billion euros”. On Saturday, Hungary’s government said lawmakers would vote next week on a series of laws aimed at easing the conflict. The measures are expected to include the establishment of independent anti-corruption watchdogs to monitor the use of EU funds, as well as measures to make the legislative process more transparent. Hahn said he is “very confident that…we will see significant reforms in Hungary that will really change the game.” He said Hungary had committed to “fully informing” the Commission of implementing measures to address its concerns by November 19. Orbán’s government struck a calmer tone than usual on the issue, and Justice Minister Judit Varga reacted to the panel’s proposal, acknowledging that “we still have work to do” to end the row, while insisting that ” we are moving in the right direction”. “We are working to ensure that the Hungarian people receive the resources they are entitled to!” Varga commented on her Facebook page on Sunday. Tibor Navracsics, Hungary’s minister responsible for negotiations with the EU, told reporters on Sunday that he was confident “we can complete these negotiations before the end of the year and sign the relevant agreements” to make the disengagement possible. of funds. However, German MEP Daniel Freund told AFP that while the freeze on funds to Hungary was welcome, he feared Hungary’s proposed measures were not enough to “stop Orbán and his cronies from stealing funds from EU”. “These are good measures and should be adopted, but they are not enough to stop corruption, let alone make Hungary a functioning democracy,” he said. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Valérie Hayer, a French MEP, tweeted that this was the “last chance” for Orbán. “The time for talk is over,” he said. The final decision on the proposal will be taken by the Council of the European Union. Gergely Gulyás, Orbán’s chief of staff, told reporters on Saturday that MPs would vote within days on measures aimed at allaying concerns about bribery and a lack of transparency in public procurement. The conciliatory move from Budapest comes as the Hungarian economy faces mounting pressure from a weakening local currency and rapidly rising inflation. Both have set new records this year. On Thursday, the European Parliament declared that Hungary was no longer a “full democracy” in a symbolic vote that angered Budapest.
