The Chancellor wants to unblock the funds in the EU Council.
(Photo: IMAGO/photothek)
Brussels The EU Commission maintains its assessment that the anti-corruption measures in Hungary are not sufficient to release the frozen EU funds. That’s what EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn wrote in a letter to the Czech EU Council Presidency on Friday.
According to the letter, the Hungarian parliament has passed further reforms in recent weeks. But the weaknesses and risks remained. The concerns about the effectiveness of the independent anti-corruption authority and the independence of the courts have not been eliminated.
The dispute between Hungary and the EU is about 7.5 billion euros from the EU budget and 5.8 billion euros from the Corona reconstruction fund. The Brussels authorities only want to release the funds if Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban fulfills his promises on the rule of law.
The Commission had given him a deadline of November 19 and on November 30 declared the reform efforts insufficient.
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However, since Orban has been blocking all decisions in the EU Council since then, the EU member states are looking for reasons to accommodate him. The 27 finance ministers instructed the commission on Tuesday to also take into account the legislative decisions made after November 19 in its assessment of the Hungarian reforms.
Germany and France wanted to reassess the reforms
Germany and France in particular have been pushing behind the scenes for a reassessment because they need Orban’s approval of Ukraine aid and the global minimum tax.
>> Also read: Frustration in Hungary – “The government attacks all companies that don’t have legs to run away”
However, it is difficult to convey to the public to make a deal with Orban on subsidies when the EU Commission is at the same time criticizing the reform progress in the country.
A hard line on Hungary is popular in most Western European countries. The head of the Fidesz party is not only seen as an obstructionist who often paralyzes the EU, but also as a threat to Western values.
The liberal Emmanuel Macron and the social democrat Olaf Scholz must therefore not publicly give the impression that they are rewarding the head of government from Hungary for his blackmail. At the same time, they must find a way to lift the Hungarian veto in the EU Council. In particular, the Ukraine aid in the amount of 18 billion euros is urgently needed.
The Commission President plays the ball back to the heads of government when it comes to the billions in subsidies for Hungary.
(Photo: dpa)
The Commission apparently did not want to do the heads of government the favor of a reassessment. Commissioner Hahn states in the letter that some of the laws announced by Orban were actually passed in the past few days. However, the draft laws were already included in the assessment of November 30th. Therefore there is no qualitative difference.
Von der Leyen has taken a hard line
On five pages, Hahn explains why the EU Commission continues to consider the cut in funds to be appropriate and legally covered. For its part, the Commission is under pressure from the European Parliament not to compromise on the rule of law. The parliamentarians recently demanded across party lines that EU law be strictly enforced in relation to Budapest.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) then decided in mid-November to take a hard line towards Hungary. She doesn’t seem to want to deviate from this anymore.
>> Also read: Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban sets new price caps – and plunges the country into a shortage economy
Instead, she is returning the ball to the EU Council: Now the heads of government must assume political responsibility if they want to turn a blind eye and release the funding for Hungary.
The 27 EU ambassadors are currently feverishly looking for a compromise with Hungary. They meet almost every day now. A solution should be found by next Thursday’s EU summit.
More: Orban blocks where he can – EU partners are outraged