EP brands Hungary as ‘not a full democracy’
September 17th, 2022Liberal commentators remark that the resolution passed by the European Parliament doesn’t necessarily mean that European funds are out of reach for Hungary.
In a resolution adopted with a large majority on Thursday, the European Parliament approved a report that defines Hungary as an ’electoral autocracy’, rather than a full-fledged democracy. Fidesz MEPs dismissed the report as based on a series of falsehoods, and intending to punish Hungary for returning Fidesz to government for a fourth consecutive term in April.
In a roundtable podcast, four journalists from Heti Világgazdaság suggest that the resolution obviously puts pressure on the talks between the European Commission and Hungary on how to guarantee the clean use of European funds. Hungary has offered several measures to satisfy that expectation, they point out, the latest of which is to set up a special committee to oversee ‘the integrity of public procurement procedures’. They don’t expect the Commission to accept Hungary’s standpoint in its reply on Sunday, and predict that the talks will drag on until the end of the year.