“lured, ripped off”
Barley advises German companies not to go to Hungary
07/16/2023, 4:13 p.m
The Vice President of the EU Parliament, Katarina Barley, warns German companies against investing in Hungary. According to the SPD politician, once the profit zone is reached, the “harassment” by the policies of the Orban government will begin. But there is also the exact opposite case.
The Vice President of the EU Parliament, Katarina Barley, has warned German companies against investing in Hungary. “There are numerous companies – and there are more and more – that are first lured into the country by the Hungarian government and then ripped off,” said the SPD politician to the “Münchner Merkur”.
“Once the companies have invested in Hungary, everything runs great until they are in the black. Then the harassment begins,” added the SPD politician. So it happens that companies unexpectedly “should pay special taxes of up to 90 percent”. In addition, companies reported threats against employees, said Barley. Several companies already have lack of investment security complained about in Hungary.
According to Barley, such practices are intended to pressure foreign companies into selling, usually to oligarchs close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. This is part of his strategy to gradually bring important sectors of the economy under Hungarian control. In addition to infrastructure companies such as energy or building materials companies, other sectors such as food chains are now also affected, said Barley.
On the other hand, there are also some companies that “benefit greatly from the system in Hungary,” added the SPD politician. This applies in particular to automotive companies. “They hardly pay any taxes, have direct contact with the government and laws are changed in their favor if they don’t suit them.”