Fidesz MEPs: EU leftists want to strip Hungary of funding

Deutsch slammed opposition MEPs as “foreign-funded” representatives whose goal is “that Hungary doesn’t get a single penny from the EU”.

The debate reinforced previous experiences, he said: “When a patriotic, nationalist, Christian Democrat government with conservative values receives a mandate … of the people, that is seen as incompatible with the rule of law. The European left is the greatest danger to democratic values and to European cooperation.”

Still, chances are high that the European Commission and Hungary will strike a deal on unlocking the country’s EU funds, he said, adding that the funds have been held back for “political reasons”. In the next few weeks, decisions may be made in Brussels allowing Hungary to access the funding that is owed to it by law, Deutsch said.

Fidesz MEP Balazs Hidveghi said leftist MEPs wanted to thwart an agreement between the European Commission and Hungary. “They don’t want Hungarian people to access the funds.” Leftist MEPs are attacking Hungary because it has a Christian, conservative government protecting its values and independence, he said.

At the same time, the government and the EC had conducted a successful, productive round of talks, and a deal was “basically ready”, he said. Hungary’s parliament has adopted amendments to create a framework for the agreement, he said. Hopefully, the agreement will “be a stable foundation for the disbursement of the funds from next year,” he said.

EU’s Reynders: Hungary meeting commitments fully may allay EU concerns

If Hungary properly implements planned measures aimed at allaying the rule-of-law concerns of the European Union, then an agreement aimed at resolving the impasse over funding can be reached, Didier Reynders, the EU justice commissioner, said.

During the EP plenary debate on the evaluation of Hungary’s planned measures aimed at unlocking EU funding, Reynders said the European Commission wanted to ensure that EU monies were no longer “endangered” in Hungary, and the aim was to achieve this quickly on the back of the “appropriate reforms in Hungary”.

Regarding Hungary’s plan for accessing recovery funds, the commissioner said progress had been made on most issues in recent months during Hungary-EC talks. “We’re now striving to complete the evaluation of the Hungarian plan as soon as possible,” he said.