by Gabriela Baczynska
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said it sent a formal letter to Hungary on Wednesday expressing concern over respect for the rule of law, over possible corruption, a measure that could lead to a freeze of funds intended for the government of Viktor Orban.
Despite rebukes in recent years from activists accusing him of directing European funds to his associates, Viktor Orban secured a fourth consecutive term as head of the Hungarian government this month.
Brussels responded to this new victory in the legislative elections by launching a new sanction mechanism against Budapest, already in the sights of the European executive for an anti-LGBTQ law adopted last year.
Never used before, this mechanism is the most powerful tool to which the European Commission has recourse in its disputes on the respect of democratic standards with the nationalist government of Viktor Orban, Poland and other member countries of the Community bloc.
“We have identified issues that could constitute a breach of the rule of law in Hungary and affect the EU budget,” said Vera Jourova, Vice President of the EU Executive.
“Hungary will have to respond to our concerns and propose corrective measures,” she added.
According to senior EU officials, this case concerns systemic shortcomings in the awarding of public contracts in Hungary, such as single auctions, conflicts of interest and risk of corruption.
There are “serious concerns” about the functioning of the authorities in Budapest managing EU funds and controlling how the Orban government spends that money, they said, adding that the situation was aggravated by limits on investigations and investigations. independent legal proceedings.
Irregularities were detected in nearly 4% of Hungary’s spending with EU funds between 2015 and 2015, according to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), compared to an EU average of 0.36%.
No details were given on the funds that Budapest could lose.
Hungary’s government secretary general, Gergely Gulyas, said in a Facebook video that the government would study the European Commission’s letter and formulate a detailed response on Thursday.
Hungary has two months to respond to the EU executive’s letter, a first step in a process that is expected to last several months before Brussels can propose to EU member states to approve the suspension of funds intended for Budapest – unless an agreement, however unlikely, is reached with the Orban government.
A majority of EU leaders in favor of such a measure would be enough to pass it, unlike the previous dispute between the Commission and Budapest which required a unanimous vote of the other members of the Community bloc.
(Report Gabriela Baczynska, with Anita Komuves in Budapest; French version Jean Terzian)
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