Hungary asks its EU partners to be "tolerant" while promising to apply measures to avoid suspension of funds

BRUSELAS, 20 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Hungary's Justice Minister, Judit Varga, on Tuesday called on EU partners to be "tolerant, positive and constructive" to give the Hungarian government enough time to put into practice the reforms it has promised to fight the corruption and fraud and thus avoid the blocking of 7,500 million euros in aid from the EU cohesion funds.

"Hungary is fully committed to the implementation of the measures, (measures) arranged to protect and improve the fight against corruption in the European budget," Varga told the press in Brussels, upon arrival at a meeting of the Council of European Ministers. of General Affairs.

The College of Commissioners adopted on Sunday a proposal to freeze 65% of the regional funds planned for three programs in Hungary during the 2021-2027 period due to the risk that Budapest's anti-democratic drift allows corruption and fraud in the management of these resources. .

Brussels thus proposes the suspension of some 7,500 million euros, according to estimates by the Budget Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, who specified that the final decision depends on the Twenty-seven, who now have a period of one month extendable up to three to evaluate the situation and decide .

In this framework, Varga has defended that the dialogue between the Government of Viktor Orbán and Brussels during the summer has made it possible to design "well-oriented" solutions, specifically "17 measures capable of remedying the concerns within the conditionality procedure".

"The measures are there but they need time to be adopted", insisted the Hungarian minister, who explained that the reforms committed to the EU include measures such as the creation of new authorities and, therefore, the hiring of new personnel, which does not allow legislative changes to be ready "until mid-November".

The suspension of European aid in the event of serious threats to the rule of law in EU countries is a measure planned since last January in the conditionality mechanism included in the new rules for the management of the EU Budget.

Once the proposal has been officially presented to the Council, the Twenty-seven have one month to make a decision, which can be extended for two more months. Commissioner Hahn advanced on Sunday that he trusts that the Council will make use of the maximum period in its evaluation because the reforms promised by Orbán need time for their legal processing and application.

The case dates back to last April, when Brussels began the conditionality procedure to freeze funds destined for Hungary to prevent their opaque use.

Then Budapest refused to cooperate to remedy the situation and it was not until this summer, when the Commission put a number on the funds at risk of suspension, that the Hungarian authorities began a dialogue with the community services to seek an agreement.

In the range of reforms that the EU expects to protect common funds from influence peddling, corruption and other fraud in Hungary, the creation of an Integrity Authority with expanded powers and an Anti-Corruption 'task force' with safeguards that ensure the participation of all civil society.

The Hungarian authorities must also strengthen the legal framework against corruption, guarantee transparency in access to public and European funds by foundations, strengthen audit and control mechanisms and reform the judicial system so that the decisions of the Prosecutor's Office can be appealed. .