By delaying the withdrawal of EU funds from Poland and Hungary, the European Commission essentially goes against the interests of Europe. Significant sums of money could be used to strengthen energy independence and security of supply from the framework of the recovery fund.
The coronavirus crisis forced the European Union to introduce new financing solutions. This is how the so-called recovery and resilience tool was created - with the approval of the member states. The purpose of this is to help speed up public investments and reforms after the epidemic. Those that also serve the interests of the union, and that the member states can manage the economic and social effects of the pandemic. All this so that the operation of farms is more sustainable and resilient.
Hungary would receive 16.8 billion euros from this amount, or about seven thousand billion forints at today's exchange rate. Of this, 7.2 billion euros are non-refundable grants, while 9.6 billion euros are loans. The money goes to our country, but Brussels withholds these resources.
This, in turn, makes it difficult to achieve the goals that the European Commission is demanding from the member states.
This includes, for example, the field of energy, the importance of which was raised to a higher level than before by the energy crisis and the Russian-Ukrainian war. This program of the recovery plan strengthens energy independence and energy security by reducing import dependence. It provides the population with affordable supplies and reduces the emission of harmful substances through the use of renewable energies. Therefore, within the framework of the recovery plan, the Hungarian government, for example, wants to help create a flexible and safe electricity network for channeling weather-dependent renewable energy sources. This contributes to the spread of residential solar panel use and the modernization of heating systems. And for the poorest social groups, the way to replacing expensive and polluting heating systems with sustainable and more affordable solutions can be opened. Funds may also be available for a larger increase in geothermal energy.
By withholding funds from Hungary and Poland, the European Commission is actually contradicting itself. It does not promote the realization of the goals that would be in the interest of the entire continent. And this weakens the European Union itself.
The Hungarian government started negotiations with Brussels on the use of the framework in December 2020. The committee finally announced a few days after the April 2022 parliamentary elections that proceedings would be initiated against our country for the "protection" of EU funds. According to the government, there are political interests behind it.
Everything must be done so that the effects of the energy crisis and wartime inflation affect the Hungarian economy as little as possible.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated to the German-language newspaper Budapester Zeitung that the EU institutions are "used as weapons" by the government's political opponents, "they are punishing us and obviously blackmailing us with EU money". He also indicated that the government does not want to argue, but to cooperate. Therefore, our country implements the 17-point request of the European Commission. However, according to Viktor Orbán, Brussels will probably come up with new requests after that.
At the same time, contracts can certainly be signed at the end of the year, as there will be no reason to refuse payments once the conditions have been met. At the same time, the Prime Minister emphasized: "Hungary cannot be cornered financially."
Source and full article: Magyar Nemzet
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