Hungary is not even close to the finish line on EU money, according to the EU's budget commissioner, Johannes Hahn, Euronews reports.
Johannes Hahn says there is no fixed deadline for concluding Hungary's proceedings, and that it is possible that the conclusion of the case of thousands of billions of forints of withheld funds could slip into the next European Commission's agenda in 2024, after the European Parliamentary elections.
"There are still big issues to be resolved, so we are nowhere near the finish line," Hahn told a hearing in the European Parliament.
The Austrian politician called the establishment of the Integrity Authority a step forward, but said the Hungarian government had not yet met expectations.
"The ball is in Hungary's court, it is the Hungarians who have to make decisions, instead of just making announcements. We can only evaluate decisions." Hahn says the Hungarian government has not done enough. "So far they have not met the conditions at the level we expect," he said.
The Budget Commissioner refuted claims by the Hungarian government that the EU had changed its expectations along the way. Hahn said the Commission had repeatedly made its expectations clear and they had not been changed.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said he found it unfair that Hungary had already met the requirements and then there was always another condition introduced. In his view, the EU is withholding funds out of political bias, unfairly and without legal basis.
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