Hungary’s Recovery Plan Faces EU Delay Amid Corruption Concerns
- Commission likely won’t approve plan by July 12 deadline
- Officials may cite lack of safeguards against corruption
Photographer: Roni Rekomaa/Bloomberg
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The European Union’s executive arm is likely to withhold approval of Hungary’s economic stimulus plan past a July 12 deadline due to concerns that the proposal doesn’t go far enough in preventing corruption, according to people familiar with the issue.
The European Commission must assess by Monday the plan submitted by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, which may miss out on early backing for as much as 7.2 billion euros of EU grants from the recovery package, said the people who asked not to be named discussing confidential talks. At stake for Hungary is its share of the EU’s post-pandemic recovery funding.