The European Commission's approval has been long-awaited and could make it easier to approve new aid to Ukraine
On Wednesday evening, the European Commission announced that it had released around 10 billion in so-called “cohesion funds” to Hungary, the disbursement of which had been suspended a year ago. They are funds reserved for the poorest and most backward areas of the Union and in December 2022 the European Commission decided not to approve them, accusing the Hungarian government, led by the far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, of a political, economic and extreme corrupt and illiberal judiciary.
The approval of the release of the funds was long awaited and was predicted within days by the most authoritative newspapers covering European affairs. The decision was announced the day before the start of the European Council in Brussels, i.e. the meeting of heads of state and government of the European Union, which must decide between Thursday and Friday on the approval of new aid to Ukraine worth 50 billion euros to be added to the European multiannual budget for the period 2021 to 2027.
Many observers had linked the possible release of European funds to Hungary with new aid to Ukraine. Hungary is, in fact, the European country most tied to Russia and has for months been blocking aid to Ukraine, which considers this money crucial to avoid bankruptcy and continue to defend itself against Russian invasion. Hungary may have asked the Commission to release European funds in return for approving new aid to Ukraine. However, both the Hungarian government and the European Commission have denied that the two discussions are linked.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Orbán has shown a very cautious attitude towards Russia. Although he supported the sanctions adopted by the European Union against Vladimir Putin's government, he refused to send weapons to the Ukrainian army and welcomed the spread of theses and ideas in support of Russia in the internal public debate.
On Wednesday, the day of Orbán's arrival in Brussels, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders announced that the Hungarian government's reforms had been positively assessed and therefore European funds could be released. “We have received sufficient guarantees to be able to say that the independence of the judicial system in Hungary will be strengthened. However, today's decision is not the end of the process. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and respond promptly if any setbacks occur.”
Despite the release of these 10 billion euros in “cohesion funds”, the European Commission has decided to continue not to authorize the disbursement of another 10.4 billion euros that would be due to Hungary for the so-called recovery fund of the European Union to contain the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic . To this end, the Commission asked the Hungarian government to respect 27 very strict conditions regarding transparency and financial management, conditions that Hungary never wanted to comply with.
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