The Nordic countries support EU member states that need to catch up through two financial funds, the funds of which may then be linked to anti-corruption measures, similar to the EU procedure against Hungary. Back in 2014, the Orbán government wanted to bring under its control the distribution of the Norwegian Fund's resources to NGOs, but in the end the parties failed to reach an agreement.
The governments of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are considering linking the allocation of funds for their catch-up funds to anti-corruption measures, similar to the EU procedure that is currently taking place against Hungary, Népszava reports citing an anonymous source in Brussels.
The states support EU countries that need to catch up through two financial funds in return for access to the community's single market. One of the beneficiaries is Hungary, which would have received HUF 77 billion from the two instruments in the seven-year budget period ending in 2020.
According to the newspaper's information, the countries belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) were again unable to accept a joint statement at their meeting in Brussels on November 23 due to the opposition of the Hungarian government. At the meeting, special emphasis was placed on issues of energy security, which is also important because Norway has become the EU's number one supplier of gas.
According to a source in Brussels with close knowledge of the events, what happened in May this year and last November was repeated: Budapest will only agree to the joint statement if it includes that the Norwegians have violated their financial obligations to the EU. Even now, this proposal was unacceptable to the three Nordic countries, so efforts to reach a consensus failed. The Permanent Representation of Hungary in Brussels did not respond to press inquiries.
European Commission and the Hungarian government on several fronts
- The parties have not yet signed the partnership agreement, which affects the resources of the seven-year EU budget for the period 2021-2027. The Commission is expected to make a proposal this week to suspend a third of the catch-up subsidies due to Hungary - 7.5 billion euros (roughly HUF 3,000 billion) - for failing to fully meet anti-corruption requirements.
- of the Recovery and Resilience Facility ( RRF ) for mitigating the economic damage after the coronavirus epidemic, and the Hungarian plans have not been accepted yet. According to the latest news, the EU body is preparing to give the green light to the Hungarian recovery plan, but it is tying the approximately 5.8 billion euros (2,300 billion forints) of non-refundable support to very strict conditions .
- The aforementioned rule of law procedure also taking place in a different form, there has been little talk about it recently.
Until the vote of the European Council, it gives the Orbán government a "pilot" period, i.e. two months, to fulfill the anti-corruption promises made to the Brussels body. According to the current situation, it may be known by December 19 whether part of the funds will arrive.
Source: Napi.hu
Image: ec.europa.eu