Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has signed a decree to establish an independent anti-corruption agency, a key step to unlocking crucial European Union funds amounting to 5.8 billion euros ($5.77 billion) by next year.
(Bloomberg) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has signed a decree to establish an independent anti-corruption agency, a key step to unlocking crucial European Union funds amounting to 5.8 billion euros ($5.77 billion) by next year.
The government agreed earlier to carry out a set of measures that would prevent or penalize graft, which the EU has said was one of the factors that needed to be addressed or funds from the bloc could be withheld.
The authority, to be set up by Nov. 21, would “intervene in cases where it considers that the authorities responsible have not taken the necessary steps to prevent fraud, conflict of interest, corruption and other illegalities or irregularities which could harm the sound financial management of the EU budget,” according to the decree.
The cabinet will also establish an anti-corruption task force by Dec. 1, with an equal number of delegates from the government as well as non-governmental participants.
The European Commission has intensified scrutiny over a broad erosion of rights under Orban — from the independence of Hungary’s judiciary to the status of minorities. Wielding a new mechanism that allows it to withhold billions of euros in funding, the commission said in July that Hungary’s efforts to address concerns had so far fallen short.
Read More: Hungary Seeks to Avoid EU Funding Cuts
The government has pledged to boost participation of businesses in public procurement, introduce a performance measurement framework and cut single-bid procurement procedures. Evaluation of these tenders will also be made public, according to the decree.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
