EU denies Hungary a billion euros after reform failures

The European Commission on Wednesday said Hungary had lost its entitlement to European Union aid worth some €1 billion ($1.03 billion) due to rule of law breaches.

Previously, the EU pressured the country to change its laws in order to tackle conflicts of interest and corruption.

Budapest had been told it must make reforms by the end of 2024 or they would expire.

Why has Hungary lost the money?

In 2022, the EU started "conditionality" proceedings against Hungary, seeking to block payments because of alleged infringements of public procurement rules. It said there was a lack of control and transparency.

Hungary was found to have disregarded EU standards and fundamental values and told to implement sufficient reforms. Hungary  then agreed to undertake reforms which allowed some funds to be unblocked, but a €19 billion ($20 billion) sum remained frozen. 

The EU's conditionality regulation stated that — without the suspension being lifted — "the first tranche of suspended commitments" amounting to €1 billion would expire at the end of 2024.

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has ruled the EU country uninterrupted since 2010, and consolidated power during his time in office, while some of his allies have made large fortunes.

Orban, the closest political partner of both US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the European Union, has previously said he would fight to protect money "that is ours."

In a report published in July, the European Commission concluded that Hungary did not meet EU democratic standards. Most notable in its failings were said to be corruption, political financing, conflicts of interest and media independence.

Hungary is also the subject of a September 2018 procedure that sanctions member states for "serious violations" of the rule of law.

rc/sms (AFP, dpa)