Members of the European Parliament (EP) from the Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) and the Committee on Budgets (BUDG) have jointly questioned the European Commission for releasing funds to Hungary.
The European Parliament's political and legislative work is carried out by twenty standing committees and three subcommittees, each of which elects a chair and up to four vice-chairs.
The European Commission was represented by, among others, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders. After giving a long list of positive steps taken by the Hungarian government, Commissioner Reynders said that "the Commission considers that Hungary has taken the necessary measures to comply with the horizontal conditions. In other areas, the Commission still has concerns under the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The provisions of the so-called Child Protection Act, the serious threats to academic freedom and the right to asylum are issues over which the relevant parts of the programs remain blocked".
This is the same as what Reynders' boss Ursula von der Leyen had said earlier. The Commission president has also made it clear that she is linking EU funds to LGBTQ and migration policies.
This was reiterated by another commissioner, Nicolas Schmit, commissioner for jobs and social rights in his opening speech. After explaining that the European Commission was under a legal obligation to unblock Hungary's funds, he confirmed that
we must also bear in mind that Hungary has not engaged in negotiations on other violations relevant to the Charter's enabling criteria, which are LGBTQ, academic freedom and asylum.
