The liberal majority of the European Parliament is attempting to push through a proposal that would link the transfer of structural funds, the EU’s seven-year budget and the €750 billion recovery fund conditional on rule of law criteria, which amounts to political blackmail, Hungarian MEP of the ruling Fidesz party Tamás Deutsch said on Thursday in the plenary session of the EP.
“The left-liberal majority of the European Parliament is using every means in order to link the transfer of the Union’s development funds to so-called rule of law criteria,” Deutsch said. “The latest example for this is that they want funds from the multiannual financial framework [or MFF, the EU’s seven-year budget] and the recovery fund both linked to this. (…) the idea would in essence create a tool for blackmail by blocking access to convergence funds.”
Deutsch said that the left-liberal majority does not care for protecting economies or to assist them in recovering faster from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, they prefer instead to keep up pressure through slander and fake news on member states who have mounted an effective defense against the disease and have exemplary economic track records. The funds thus retained from the member states in question would be granted to “notoriously aggressive international liberal NGOs.”
He also spoke up against MEPs of the Hungarian opposition who – in their attempts to discredit and undermine the conservative government – regularly side with the forces attacking the country.
“No matter how severe their internal disputes are regarding the seven-year budgetary framework or the €750 billion recovery package, MEPs of 26 member states are concerned with securing as much EU funding to their respective countries as possible,” Deutsch said. “There is one exception to this and that is Hungary. The MEPs of the Hungarian opposition parties (…) devote all their energies to lessen Hungary’s funding.”
Of the 21 slots assigned to Hungary, the ruling conservative Fidesz party has 13 MEP seats while four opposition parties hold the remaining eight.
Deutsch also said that the European Parliament should not penalize Hungary for its effective use of European Union funds.
“Hungarian economic results are partly due to the fact that in a European comparison we Hungarians are the most effective in utilizing them,” Deutsch said. “For this reason, the Hungarian opposition wants the European Parliament to discontinue or reduce by orders of magnitude these resources, in the hope that it will cause difficulties for the Hungarian government.”
Title image: Hungarian MEP Tamás Deutsch. (source: European Parliament)
