Index – Domestic – Several EU countries would have hit Hungary even harder

In December 2022, within the framework of the rule of law conditions, the Council of the European Union suspended the payment of 55 percent of three operational programs in Hungary and prohibited the conclusion of contracts with EU institutions due to the conflict of interest rules of public interest trust foundations.

Since Hungary only took partial corrective measures to remedy corruption, the council, which brings together the governments of the member states, decided to suspend 6.3 billion euros and to exclude universities maintained by foundations from the Erasmus and Horizon programs.

Although the member states eventually relaxed the original 65 percent proposal, according to 444’s information

According to the documents requested by the newspaper, the Swedish government, for example, says that 65 percent “seems to be a rather low number”, and they inquired whether other parts of the EU funds are not affected by the deficiencies in the rule of law revealed in Hungary. The Belgians also asked how the 65 percent came out.

And the Netherlands was interested in why the proposed sanctions did not affect agricultural funds. They asked whether agricultural funds were not in danger. According to the committee’s response, the proposed measures had to be adapted to the risks affecting EU funds, and they did not have enough information about the poor or corrupt management of funds in the case of agricultural funds.

According to the Luxembourg government, the Hungarian financial commitments that were made during the previous (2014-2020) seven-year budget, but which will be paid in the current budget period, “represent a significant risk to the financial interests of the EU”.

According to the paper, despite the fact that Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg asked the committee critical questions, in the end they also voted for a 55 percent suspension in December 2022, i.e. a lighter sanction than the original one.

The member states also evaluated the corrective steps undertaken by the Hungarian government, but many doubts were raised about the integrity authority, which was only planned to be created at the time. The measures are still in force today, and although the committee re-examined the situation in Hungary in December 2023, it did not recommend lifting or relaxing the restrictions.