Published: 22.6.2020
The Fidesz government still tries to hide the fact that the European Commission has initiated a comprehensive consultation on the use of EU funds for Hungary.
It seems that Viktor Orbán is willing to ask the opinion of the people only on the issues he manages (even then, just for show) – in the government’s opinion, however, it is not important what we should spend the EU subsidies for Hungary on in the next seven years.
Obviously, they don’t want to ‘nationally consult’ on this matter because they’ve already handed it out to each other in their heads, at least on grid paper in Felcsút.
However, MSZP strongly believes that Hungarian people, non-governmental organizations, trade unions and local governments must have a say in the use of the more than seven thousand billion forints of EU funds expected in the period between 2021 and 2027. This is the money of Hungarian people, not that of the prime minister’s relatives or oligarch friends! The Socialist Party was the first to formulate a package of proposals for the rational and necessary use of these seven thousand billion forints. We have made it clear that for us, the focus of EU funding in the coming years must be on people.
We urge that support for Hungarian people be used primarily for job creation and protection, and that these funds be spent on education, equal opportunities, social protection, decent housing, a fair old age income and, above all, quality healthcare for all citizens.
An important part of the document (the complete document is available on MSZP platforms) is that in order to reduce being exposed to the government, resources that can be called directly by local governments must be significantly increased, so that municipalities can apply for support for developments important to them such as local healthcare development or their regional transport, education and environmental programs.
Although the Orbán government is trying to sneak out of the European consultation, MSZP actively supports the EU dialogue on the use of EU funds. That is why in the coming weeks we will initiate and continue a meaningful consultation with the social partners, including representatives of local government associations, trade union federations and key NGOs, on the use of EU funds for the next seven years.
Unfortunately, Fidesz’s anti-European policy has significantly reduced the ruling party’s influence and hampered its negotiating position in Brussels, so we must do everything in our power to make Hungary a winner as opposed to a loser of the next EU budget!
dr. István Ujhelyi
Member of the European Parliament
14 June, 2020