The European Commission is not negotiating the release of EU funds for Hungary but is assessing the rule of law compliance, European Commissioner Johannes Hahn told EU lawmakers on Tuesday (7 November), responding to concerns that Budapest could use its stance on EU budget revision as leverage to unfreeze EU money.
The European Commission is currently assessing Hungary’s compliance with a series of conditions following last December’s decision to freeze €22 billion in EU funds due to concerns about the rule of law in the country.
On Tuesday, budget and budgetary control committee members said that Hungary could pressure the EU Commission into unfreezing part of these funds in exchange for its support to the proposed revision of the EU long-term budget, following reports in the media.
The revision of the long-term budget – known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – includes a €66 billion top-up to cover increasing EU needs, spanning from migration management to aid for Ukraine, and is currently under the scrutiny of member states, which need to approve it unanimously.
However, Hungary’s Prime Minister, Victor Orbán, already opposed more funds for Ukraine at an EU summit at the end of October, reinforcing concerns that he might use the country’s vote to unfreeze the EU funds.
“We’ve been there before,” said MEP José Manuel Fernandes (EPP) during the meeting, referring to previous instances where Hungary used its veto power in the Council’s decisions.
“How would the European Commission respond should the situation arise?” he asked Commissioners Johannes Hahn and Nicolas Schmit, who attended the meeting.
In response, the commissioners rejected the possibility of Hungary’s funds being released under the country’s pressure to support other files, as EU funds can only flow if there is compliance with the rule of law and a positive assessment by the Commission on the remedial measures.
“The independence of the judiciary is not a question of negotiation; either you have independence of the judiciary, or you do not have,” said Schmit.
“We are not negotiating anything; we are trying to assess proposals,”Hahn said, adding that “rumours in the papers should be checked against delivery.”
Regarding the discussion on the EU’s long-term budget, Hahn said, “In principle, on the main issues of the MFF, there is no possibility of being blackmailed.”
“You can make things more complicated and cumbersome if you need unanimity [but] we can find a solution only including 26 member states,” he added.
Slow progress
Concerns over Hungary’s pressure on budgetary decisions, as well as its non-compliance to the rule of law conditions, were raised by other lawmakers during the meeting.
“No money should be released until all the necessary requirements have been fulfilled,” said Renew MEP Moritz Körner.
Overall, progress on Hungary’s compliance with the conditions set by the European Commission to unlock the funds remains slow. While Hungary carried out judicial reforms in May, the Commission is still assessing whether they can unfreeze EU money earmarked for the country.
Last week, the Commission sent a letter to Budapest, urging the government to provide the necessary information needed to finalise its assessment, Schmit said.
Meanwhile, EU lawmaker Petri Sarvamaa (EPP) asked the Commission to wait until the results of the elections of the Hungarian judiciary council – an independent body supervising courts – in the coming weeks before finalising the assessment.
“Only after that you will have a chance to see if the conditions have been met,” he said.
[Edited by János Allenbach-Ammann/Alice Taylor]
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