Viktor Orban has already had numerous disputes with the EU.
(Photo: Reuters)
Brussels In the dispute with Hungary over violations of the rule of law, the EU Commission is withholding all money from the cohesion fund for the Eastern European country. A total of around 22 billion euros would be frozen until the government in Budapest met all the conditions, the authority announced on Thursday.
The EU member states had already decided on December 12 to block 6.3 billion of the 22 billion euros. The funds should be used to equalize living conditions in the years 2023 to 2027.
The EU Commission had sent Hungary a catalog of requirements that it must meet in the dispute over the rule of law before EU aid money can flow. It is about the independence of the courts and the fight against corruption at the highest level.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban needs the money for his economy, where inflation has risen to 26 percent. In addition, the national debt has skyrocketed and the value of the currency, the forint, has plummeted.
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During his more than ten-year reign, Orban has already had numerous clashes with the EU for violating the principles of liberal democracy in Hungary by restricting the rights of the media, academics, judges, NGOs, migrants and LGBTI people, according to the EU Commission and many Member States damaged.
More: After the Hungary deal – The next blackmail will come