Balázs Orbán, the prime minister’s political director, said transparency in the use of European Union monies is a shared interest of Hungary and the EU.
Speaking ahead of an annual civic event held in Kötcse, in western Hungary, Orbán told journalists in response to a question concerning plans to set up a Hungarian anti-corruption board that Brussels and the Hungarian government were continually monitoring the use of EU funds. There is no dispute with Brussels in this area and the government welcomes all proposals, he added. In response to a question concerning whether Hungary was showing due respect to teachers, he said that as much as the country could afford, efforts were being made to give them the appreciation they deserve “also in financial terms”. “We are continually working on enabling more and more social groups doing important work to get increasingly high wages. Hikes have been introduced in public education and higher education,” he said, adding that it was a labour rights issue whether teachers practising civil disobedience should be fired. “We have no such intention but if it remains the only option allowed by law, then it will be unavoidable.” Fidesz MEP Tamás Deutsch told the press at the same event that Hungary and the European Commission were involved in talks advancing towards consensus regarding the utilisation of resources from the recovery fund. The EC representatives attending the talks had not raised the issue of Hungary refusing to join the European public prosecutor’s office. “We never had anything to hide concerning the use of EU monies,” he said, adding that the proportion of single bid public procurements in Hungary was below the EU average.
Photo credit: MTI