Didier Reynders, the Justice Commissioner of the European Commission, emphasized at his press conference in Brussels that the board can support the adoption of the Hungarian plan on the condition that Hungary fulfills the rule of law milestones.
He emphasized
the Hungarian plan contains a wide range of mutually reinforcing reforms and investments, which contribute to the effective management of a significant part of the economic and social challenges outlined in the country-specific recommendations addressed to Hungary. It provides a comprehensive and balanced response to Hungary's economic and social situation, and includes measures to support sustainable growth and social and territorial cohesion. These particularly affect the areas of green and digital transition, education, social policy, the labor market, healthcare, the fight against corruption, the independence of the judiciary, the quality of decision-making, public procurement, taxation and the pension system.
He stated: the Hungarian plan is able to adequately contribute to the fulfillment of the 27 milestones stipulated in the Decree on the Recovery and Resilience Building Instrument. Hungary must fulfill these requirements in order to effectively protect the financial interests of the Union, before any payments can be made within the framework of the Union Recovery Fund. Non-fulfilment of commitments prevents later payments, he emphasized.
The EU Commissioner informed that
the European Commission is now forwarding the positive assessment of the Hungarian recovery plan to the Council of the European Union. The council has four weeks to adopt its implementing decision.
The Decree on the Recovery and Resilience Building Facility stipulates that 70 percent of the subsidies granted to the member states must be committed before December 31, he reminded.
Reynders also stated:
at the same time, the Brussels board maintains the freezing of the 7.5 billion euros (about HUF 3,000 billion) catch-up funds from the EU budget. According to his words, the board assessed Hungary as not making adequate progress in the necessary reforms to address the European Commission's concerns regarding the use of EU funds.
"Further fundamental steps are needed to eliminate the risks that continue to threaten the EU budget in Hungary"
he said.
He reminded: on September 18, the European Commission proposed freezing the amount of EU funds available to Hungary due to concerns about corruption and public procurement. The move followed the launch of the mechanism related to the rule of law conditions in April. Hungary negotiated with the EU committee and then presented 17 measures aimed at eliminating concerns. The board is now forwarding its analysis of the implementation of the Hungarian measures to the council that brings together the member states. The final decision, based on the recommendation of the European Commission, will be made by the council by December 19, the EU commissioner added.
MTI
Photo: European Parliament
