Fidesz MEP: EC Unlawfully Withholding Recovery Funding from Hungary

The European Commission is violating European Union law and creating an uneven playing field among member states by withholding recovery funding from Hungary and Poland, an MEP of the ruling Fidesz party said on Tuesday.

Enikő Győri said in a statement in connection with Monday’s session of the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee that she had reminded EC Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni that one of the main aims of the EU’s Recovery Fund was to provide member states even conditions for their recovery.

“Withholding the funding Hungarians are entitled to goes against this goal,” she said.

Győri said she had not received a substantive answer from EC officials to her question as to whether the commission’s approval of certain member states’ recovery plans created an uneven playing field among EU countries. Neither had they provided a meaningful response, she said, to her query seeking a precise legal basis for the EC’s decision to withhold the recovery monies.

“The commission’s explanation that the basis for their practice is member states’ partial implementation of their country-specific recommendations does not hold up to scrutiny given that the evaluations issued by the body often concern issues which are strongly subjective and do not fall under EU competency, and the recommendations’ general implementation rate is only 41 percent at the EU level,” Győri said.

The criterion for determining whether a member state can achieve a successful recovery should be the achievement of the fundamental economic goals when it comes to financial stability, Győri said. The focus should be on fiscal discipline instead of bringing in issues laden with ideology, she said. Further, she added, the commission should be open to taking into account member states’ arguments and their specific problems.

featured image via Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI