Deutsch: Left wants Hungary stripped of EU funding

It was clear from a Brussels press conference left-wing politicians held earlier in the day that their sole political aim was to prevent Hungary from accessing the EU monies, the head of the ruling party’s European parliamentary group said in a video statement.

“The situation is clear,” he said. “The Hungarian and the European left wing absolutely want Hungary punished.”

He said they did not care what commitments Hungary had made in agreement with the European Commission to resolve rule-of-law issues “invented by them”.

Deutsch added that they were taking revenge on Hungarian citizens who voted against left-wing parties in general elections four times in a row.

He noted that another European parliamentary debate on Hungary has been initiated next week with a view to adopting another EP resolution condemning the country and calling on the European Commission to withhold EU development funds.

The government, he added, would represent Hungarian interests and fight the “unworthy attacks against Hungarians” in next week’s debate.

At a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, MEPs handling rule-of-law issues said Hungarian measures taken to satisfy related concerns had fallen short of the requirements.

Petri Sarvamaa, a Finnish MEP of the European People’s Party, told the press conference that the European Commission had interpreted its remit “very narrowly” when it came to Hungarian corruption cases and conflicts of interest in connection with public procurement, adding that these accounted for only a small portion of Hungary’s rule-of-law problems.