The Prime Minister of that nation, Mateusz Morawiecki, described as illegal the proposal of the European Commission (EC) to reduce the financial resources allocated to Budapest by 7.5 billion euros.
Morawiecki stressed his country “will vigorously oppose” any action by the European institutions that seek to deprive a member state of the 27-country bloc of funding.
The conditionality mechanism was established two years ago in the EU, and the case of Hungary is the first time that the regulation is applied. According to the EC, this initiative was created to protect the community budget and the financial interests of the EU.
The application of the measure is due to disputes between Hungary and the community entity over issues such as democratic standards, migration and LGBTQ+ rights.
Budapest expects some 40 billion dollars in EU funding until 2027, but part of those funds corresponding to 2021 are blocked due to alleged corruption offenses that violate the values of the community bloc.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Morawiecki recalled that recent statements by the EU Commissioner for Budgets and Administration, Johannes Hahn, pointed out the non-existence of a connection between the conditionality mechanism and what is happening today.
The diplomat also announced that the government of his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán, had prepared a plan of agreements for the EC with a view to ending the dispute between the two parties.
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