The grant looked bad in the midst of efforts that Hungary has promised the European Union to make to better fight corruption. Wednesday, December 7, the Hungarian news site 24.hu had revealed that the son-in-law of Viktor Orban, Istvan Tiborcz, pinned in 2018 for having mounted a “organized fraud scheme” to receive European funds, had just won, on November 3, 156 million forints (nearly 375,000 euros) of EU funds intended for the ” rural development “.
Following questions from Worldthe spokesperson for Mr. Tiborcz however suddenly let it be known on Friday, December 9 “that he no longer wished to implement the planned reforestation project” on one of the plots he owns in the district of Bicske, west of Budapest, “due to changing economic conditions”. Therefore, “he will therefore not use these funds”promises this spokesperson, while this attribution had caused a scandal in recent days in Hungary.
Located about forty kilometers from the Hungarian capital, the district of Biscke is indeed the stronghold of the relatives of the nationalist Prime Minister. His childhood friend, his wife or his son-in-law have bought lots of land there, and his father, Gyozo Orban, is in the process of erecting a luxurious palace on a 23-hectare site. Mr Tiborcz had asked for these European funds to “create a green corridor that promotes the free movement and propagation of species”.
Undemonstrated corruption
“There was certainly no indication that these specific funds linked to agricultural policy were allocated in a corrupt wayrecognizes Sandor Lederer, director of the anti-corruption NGO K-Monitor, but it gives a bad impression in the middle of the negotiations with Brussels”, which could lead to the freezing of more than 13 billion euros of European funds intended for Hungary. The decision to freeze or not these funds must indeed be ratified in the very next few days by the Member States of the EU.
Several states, including France, are very reluctant to opt for freezing. But, meanwhile, “Orban’s entourage continues to steal European funds”denounces the German MEP (ecologist) Daniel Freund, specialist in the rule of law in Hungary, who cites the case of the aborted subsidy of Mr. Tiborcz but also that of the former classmate of Mr. Orban, Lorinc Meszaros, who became the first Hungarian fortune at the head of a gigantic conglomerate which “continues to win European tenders”.
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