Criticism of von der Leyen
Orban is waving ten billion from Brussels
November 30, 2023, 7:21 p.m
Because of frozen billions from the EU budget, Hungary is taking tiny steps towards judicial reform. At the same time, Prime Minister Orban is threatening Brussels with a blockage of aid to Ukraine. Now his double strategy seems to be working.
In the judicial dispute with the European Union, Hungary can hope for the release of billions in financial aid from Brussels. The EU Commission could release up to ten billion euros that are frozen in the rule of law dispute with Hungary, as EU employees in Brussels said in the afternoon. That’s almost half of all the total blocked funds. However, Hungary still has to fulfill requirements for this.
“We see significant reforms and we believe that these contribute to the independence of the judiciary,” it said in Brussels. The right-wing nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban initiated a judicial reform in the spring under pressure from the EU. Among other things, it provides for protecting the country’s highest courts from political influence and strengthening the National Judicial Council as a supervisory body.
“The maximum amount that could be released is ten billion euros,” the EU source said. For this to happen, however, the justice law must be passed by the parliament in Budapest and it must be “signed and published”, i.e. it must legally come into force.
Threatening to block aid to Ukraine
Orban even demanded more than 13 billion euros from Brussels. Nevertheless, the release of the funds would be a victory for the EU critic. The four major pro-European groups in the European Parliament, from the Conservatives to the Greens, had warned President Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission against such a step. They pointed to serious deficiencies that even the judicial reform cannot solve. For example, the irregularly appointed President of the Supreme Court in Hungary would remain in office, possibly for life.
A number of member states and members of the European Parliament also accuse Orban of political “blackmail”: Before the summit of European heads of state and government in mid-December, he threatened to use his veto to prevent further EU aid worth billions for Ukraine as well as the planned starting signal for the EU accession talks.
At the end of December 2022, the EU froze a total of 21.7 billion for Hungary, primarily funds for regional funding. According to the EU, 11.7 billion of these remain blocked for the time being. According to Brussels, Hungary is also violating Europe’s Charter of Fundamental Rights when it comes to asylum policy or the rights of sexual minorities.