Home ›› 21 Sep 2022 ›› World Biz
The government of Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban is proposing a raft of anti-graft measures to unlock billions of euros in blocked EU funds as the country confronts an economic downturn.
Here are key questions regarding the issue:
What to expect from the reforms
The government tabled amendments in parliament on Monday with more to follow on Friday for a total of 17 key changes, which are expected to be waved through.
The measures aim to create independent anti-corruption watchdogs to monitor the use of EU funds and make the legislative process more transparent.
They follow a proposal on Sunday by the European Union's executive arm to suspend 7.5 billion euros ($7.5 billion) in financing for Hungary.
The proposed suspension is over concerns that Orban, who has ruled Hungary since 2010, is undercutting the rule of law and using EU money to enrich cronies.
On Thursday, the European Parliament declared that Hungary was no longer a "full democracy" -- a symbolic vote that infuriated Budapest.
Miklos Ligeti, head of legal affairs at the NGO Transparency International Hungary, said under Orban checks and balances had been dismantled and "a highly dysfunctional rules system" put in place.
"There is no way of getting rid of the systemic corruption just by changing some laws," he told AFP, adding "not much can be achieved".
Transparency International ranks Hungary as the second lowest in the EU in its corruption perception index.
"Orban cannot really afford professional anti-corruption scrutiny as too many relatives and personal friends are involved," said Peter Akos Bod, a professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest.
While the European Commission is "under pressure" to get Hungary to reform, it "does not have many tools at its disposal", said Eulalia Rubio, a senior research fellow at the Paris-based Jacques Delors Institute.
The final decision on the commission's proposal to suspend funds will be taken by EU states within three months.
