The EC warned Budapest that it will not receive such aid unless the country complies with legislation on LGTBI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) rights, as well as academic freedoms or the right of asylum for refugees.

Brussels is trying to blackmail us into complying with LGTBI and migration standards by abusing EU funds, the State Secretary for International Communication, Zoltán Kovács, underlined on the official government blog.

The official was reacting to a warning today by EC President Ursula von der Leyen that Brussels will not release more funds to Hungary until the country resolves its shortcomings on LGTBI rights, academic freedom and the right to asylum, for which it still cannot access some 20 billion euros.

The Hungarian government’s international spokesman assured that “there will be no compromise on these issues”, according to the local press.

Last December the EC unblocked 10 billion euros of cohesion funds, arguing that the reforms carried out by Hungary responded to several of the recommendations put forward to strengthen judicial independence.

But the European Parliament will vote tomorrow, Thursday, a resolution to take the Commission to the EU Court of Justice for the release of these funds, because it considers that the judicial reform approved by Budapest is not enough.

ef/arm/ro/ehl