Government makes 4 concessions to Brussels

The leading liberal website thinks the government was compelled to retreat from its defiant posture as the National Bank could not halt the slide of the national currency.

After reaching record lows against the Euro and the Dollar, the Forint gained a few percentage points on Thursday, when the government announced that it would accept four demands put forward by the European Commission,  in the hope of unblocking the post-covid recovery funds frozen on account of rule of law considerations. The government promised to reduce the proportion of single-bid public procurement tenders to below 15 percent; ensure that in case the prosecution refuses to act on a complaint over such issues, plaintiffs can appeal to the court; limit fast-track legislation to exceptional cases and devote a significant share of Union resources to bolstering Hungary’s energy independence.

On hvg.hu, Mercédesz Gyükeri believes that given the sovereign debt accumulated during the Covid pandemic and the explosion of energy prices in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, European funds are of vital importance to strengthening investor confidence in Hungary. She doesn’t expect an agreement with Brussels anytime soon but believes the mere hope of a compromise will be helpful. In her concluding remark, she cautions all parties against issuing messages that might undermine that hope.

Tags: EU funds